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Interior of HouseZero first level. Captures work space, reception area, meeting room, and staircase.
Left: Second-floor workspace of HouseZero. Right: Exterior photo of HouseZero, a pre-1940’s house in Cambridge MA that was retrofitted into an ambitious data-driven living-laboratory
Two images side by side of robot used to create materials
Creating and improving sustainable, high-performance buildings and cities >> HouseZero, the Center’s headquarters, is a pre-1940s house in Cambridge, MA that was retrofitted into an ultra-efficiency, healthy, positive energy structure and lab with ambitious performance targets. Explore HouseZero.
Driving sustainability through design >> Through research, innovation, and collaboration, the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities is promoting holistic change within the built environment. Discover our Center.
Using design-centric strategy to develop processes, systems, and products >> Our researchers and faculty focus on four interrelated areas of research: design and operation, high-performance materials and construction, technology adoption and diffusion, and sustainable planning. Learn about our research. 
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Press

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Downtown Kolkata, India.

The Inequality of heat

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Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities…

News

April 2025

The Harvard Salata Institute Announces Grant Inspired by HouseZero®..

BBC Radio 4 segment “Staying Cool”

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Worldwide, the number of people facing extreme heat exposure is rising…

Project Air

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According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, indoor air can be…

Document