The
Aldrich hallways during class changes have occasionally been referred to as
"cattle chutes," with the massive numbers of students leaving class
and swarming in the few open areas. This spring, much of that has changed with
the opening of Hawes Hall, HBS' largest investment in classroom space since
Aldrich was built in the early 1950s. Hawes features four 92-seat and four
68-seat classrooms with the latest technology and significant advancements over
the rooms in Aldrich.
Construction
on the 3-story building began in late 2000, and progress has been quick for the
approximately $20 million project which was inaugurated on April 26, 2002.
The building is named in honor of Rod and Beverly Hawes. Rod Hawes was a Baker
Scholar graduate of the Class of 1969 who retired in 1998 as Chairman and CEO of
Life Re Corporation of Hartford, CT. The Haweses are philanthropists who are
active in the Mormon Church and major donors to the Marriott School of
Management at Brigham Young University, as well as several humanitarian causes.
A tour of the building, reveals several of the features of the new building.
First impressions focus on the wide hallways, which were designed to allow
students space to congregate, alleviating the congestion of Aldrich. Student
lounge areas are planned in the building, with wireless Ethernet access
throughout the building, including inside the classrooms. Even the Aldrich
restroom confusion has been corrected—the men's and women's restrooms are in
the same place on every floor.
The use of different-sized classrooms is a first for HBS, where classes of all
sizes meet in 90- to 100-seat rooms. But many EC and Executive Education classes
have only half that number of students. The different size classrooms will
"fill out the inventory". They will also give officials the chance to
take one or two Aldrich classrooms out of circulation during the school year for
sorely needed renovations.
Inside the classroom, the tried-and-true multi-level horseshoe format remains.
The large classrooms will have five levels, the smaller four. The side
chalkboards will be 7'-6" wide and have three levels, rather than the 6'
Aldrich stationary boards. The student chairs will be on wheels, like those in
Aldrich 112. Finally, there will be not one, but two LCD projectors and screens
in each room, providing HBS professors more ways to be confused by the
electronics, but also leaving plenty of chalkboard space available during a
presentation.
All of these changes will combine to provide ultimate flexibility as far as
pedagogy is concerned.
One
notable feature of the building is all of the windows. At least some of them are
designed to let natural light into some classrooms—something that the Aldrich
designers clearly fought against. As such, blackout shades are available for
professors to keep students from staring outside during class.
Outside of Hawes, in the new quadrangle created with Aldrich and Baker, a
separate construction project, a new courtyard donated by the Class of 1971 has
also taken shape. It is an oval path with a large green area in the middle. At
the center entrance to Aldrich, there is a stone and brick patterned area that
includes a plaque to the donors. The courtyard was finished about the time Hawes
opened.
