“A striking building that won the prestigious Harleston Parker Medal from the Boston Society of Architects when it opened in 1990, the Shad Hall fitness center was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Wood. Despite its massive size, the 118,000-square-foot facility includes architectural details that allow the building to blend harmoniously with the Georgian Revival style of older campus buildings. Programming for Shad Hall is intended to meet the needs of the HBS community and includes classes and outreach initiatives that encourage wellness and fitness.

“The three-story, brick and concrete structure houses a multipurpose gym, indoor track, cardio and weight room, racquet courts, locker rooms, and exercise studios. The basement of Shad is home to the Computer Lab for Experimental Research, a 36-seat computer lab with six small-group rooms and sophisticated technology to facilitate research on human behavior. The roof is “green”—topped with 64 cubic yards of a gravel-like medium allowing for a variety of plants to grow there,” (Harvard Business School, Shad Hall).

In 2010, the School’s Operations Department was honored by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino with a City of Boston Green Business Award, primarily in recognition of the multiple green technologies in use at Shad Hall. “When Shad Hall, the School’s fitness and recreation facility, needed a new roof, HBS made the decision to go green by installing its first living rooftop. In the fall of 2009, a garden of more than 9,000 hardy perennials was planted atop Shad, covering 5,200 square feet. The green roof has four layers: an impermeable membrane, insulation, a water retention and drainage system, and a shale-based planting medium that will not blow away or compact over time. The new plantings will spread to cover the entire garden area by the summer of 2011,” (Harvard Business School Annual Report 2010, Sustainability).

Established from sedum plugs, this 4″ extensive system is located on the Harvard University Business School Shad Hall at the Harvard Campus in Cambridge, MA across the street from the Harvard Stadium. It is a 5,000 sq ft green roof within an 8,000 sq ft roof surface combined with concrete pavers for maintenance access.

This was the first green roof installed at the Harvard Business School.