Harvard University is building a new conference centre, to open in autumn 2025. It will be the university’s first campus-wide conference facility – but that’s not the most impressive thing about it. The David Rubenstein Treehouse will be constructed almost entirely from wood.

The conference centre is designed to give visitors the impression of being “up in the canopy”. It uses a rare type of frame, made from “engineered wood”, and will feature a wraparound balcony on the upper levels and an abundance of natural light.

Conference facilities are often insular, energy-intensive buildings that are closed off from their surroundings. The Treehouse conference center aims to establish a very different kind of hub for convening at Harvard University: a low-carbon destination that energizes conversation, collaboration, and the wider neighborhood through embracing its community and outdoor environment. With an expressive mass timber structure, the first on Harvard’s campus, the Treehouse also visibly models a greener way of building for Boston and institutions worldwide. 

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