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Construction on Pritzker Hall, the new home of Harvard’s Economics department, has been underway for four months – marking the start of a major transformation for one of the University’s largest academic programs.
Professors in the department said they hope the new space, which is expected to open in December 2027, will provide a much needed upgrade and allow more collaboration between students and professors.
“We want Economics to be the largest concentration at Harvard for the next 200 years,” said Edward L. Glaeser, an Economics professor and former department chair. “And we hope that this building will help to make that happen.”
The project was made possible by a $100 million donation in 2021 by Penny S. Pritzker ’81, senior fellow of the Harvard Corporation — the University’s highest governing body. Once complete, Pritzker Hall will replace the department’s longtime home in the Center for Public Administration.
Glaeser said the change comes after years of frustration with Littauer’s design and atmosphere.
“This building is both forbidding in terms of its outside appearance,” he said. “It requires stairs to walk in. It does not have great space for undergraduates to just come and hang out at all. I think for all those reasons, it’s a place that makes sure that faculty are not as linked to undergraduates as they could be.”
The design of the new building, which is being built over the parking lot next to Littauer, Glaeser added, will have more open areas and an outdoor awning to create a shaded work space.
“We’re trying to do that both with the awning overhang, space that’s meant to be a welcoming, protective space,” Glaeser said.
Architectural plans also feature an open lobby connecting to advising offices and classrooms, as well as a “sunken green space” designed for informal gatherings, according to Glaeser.
The layout also aims to encourage what Glaeser described as “fortuitous, unexpected interactions.”
“People will come in not knowing who they’re going to run into, and then just see people, or faculty will see students,” he said. “We’ve thought a lot about making sight lines work, so there’s lots of ability to see who’s walking around in the building and to say hello and to connect and to share a problem that you've been having, or to share success that you’ve had with someone else.”
While some departments have created spaces primarily for their concentrators, Glaeser said he hopes Pritzker Hall will be open to the wider college community.
“I want as many people in the College to learn economics as possible,” he said. “So I want everyone to be in this building.”
—Staff writer Bianca G. Ciubancan can be reached at bianca.ciubancan@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Victoria D. Rengel can be reached at victoria.rengel@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @VictoriaRengel_.
