American Repertory Theater, 2026

Haworth Tompkins is working with the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University on a new performance and research centre, a keystone of the university’s emerging masterplan in the Boston district of Allston. Anchored around two highly flexible auditoria, the building will be an experimental cultural space that aims to be an active participant in the lives of the entire community of its users, from local people to international artists. In order to provide A.R.T. with an adaptable, future-proof ‘test bed’ for making and experiencing performance, the project seeks to maximise flexibility and creative opportunity throughout the building. The concept of ‘rooms with no names’ has emerged in discussions with A.R.T. and describes the ability for both front and back of house spaces to support a range of uses at different times: public gathering and refreshment; informal performance; rehearsal; making/assembly and community use. A robust, democratic and inclusive visual and ,material language is being developed to encourage engagement and hard use, while an ambitious set of sustainability goals, (including the holistic Living Building Challenge Core certification) will result in a new, regenerative cultural architecture for the coming century of change. The exterior walls of the building will be a ‘canvas’ of temporary and permanent public art. Construction is programmed to begin in early 2023 with completion anticipated in 2026.

BOSTON, UNITED STATES

AMERICAN REPERTORY THEATER & HARVARD UNIVERSITY