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Babson College
Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village

A new living-learning environment advances Babson College’s mission of entrepreneurial leadership through shared spaces for collaboration and connection.

A place to live, learn, and lead

Babson College is internationally recognized for its leadership in entrepreneurship. The Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village (HELV) gives that mission a physical home by bringing academic programs, student life, and global engagement together in one purpose-built setting. Our work began at the earliest stages, guiding site selection, defining the program, and shaping a phased renovation strategy to bring the HELV to life.

The HELV provides a new and unique aspect to the student experience—a dynamic place where students can live, learn, socialize, experiment, and network across our community.
Caitlin CapozziDean of Students, Babson University
Phase 1 focused on targeted renovations to the BECC building, upgrading residences and introducing new shared amenities and state-of-the-art teaching spaces.

A shared framework for choosing the right site

Site selection was a defining first step in shaping the HELV’s success. Working closely with College leadership and facilities staff, we established shared criteria aligned with Babson’s mission and long-term goals. Those criteria guided evaluations of potential sites through test fits, scenario planning, and early cost comparisons. The resulting study confirmed the program and site while establishing a clear budget range and phasing strategy.

Some of the central questions guiding our work included:

  1. How can the arrival experience support student and visitor success?
  2. What renovation approach balances cost, time, and quality?
  3. What spatial and programmatic moves best advances the HELV mission?
Clear overall graphics with rankings across a range of metrics were developed to support our recommendations to senior leadership. The BECC Renovation was ultimately selected as the most strategic home for the HELV.
Each site was evaluated for its climate impacts through embodied carbon calculations. The BECC site offered the most programmatic square footage with the least embodied carbon impacts.

Bringing the vision to life

Phase 1 marked the first step in realizing HELV’s long-term vision, focusing on transformative new academic environments. Key shared spaces were reimagined as light-filled, technology-rich settings for innovation and collaboration, while targeted finish upgrades to the residences supported the broader living-learning framework. Improved circulation, stronger outdoor connections, and a redefined arrival sequence established the HELV as an active, visible campus hub.

IN DESIGN: Early concepts explored opening the building to light and views, turning circulation space into a shared place for collaboration.
BEFORE: A corridor lined the exterior wall, capturing daylight while interior spaces remained closed off and dark.
AFTER: The corridor was opened to create a light-filled hub, where a cafe and collaborative seating connect to an outdoor patio and campus views.

The heart of innovation and collaboration

A once ordinary lounge is now the Global Outreach Studio—a relaxed setting for daily collaboration that transforms into a high-impact venue for livestreamed events, podcasting, and hybrid conversations that extend Babson’s reach beyond campus.
We’re creating a hub that brings our entrepreneurial community together, whether they’re here in person or joining us from halfway around the world.
D.R. WidderVice President of Innovation, Babson College
BEFORE: A single-purpose fitness space limited broader campus use.
AFTER: The space was transformed into flexible collaboration space with breakout rooms that better reflect the HELV’s living-learning mission.
The new main lobby creates a clear and welcoming arrival, drawing visitors into a light-filled commons that anchors the HELV.
BEFORE: The original Woodside entry read as an unwelcoming back door.
AFTER: Improved landscaping and expanded glazing creates a welcoming and visible secondary entrance.
Flexible collaboration spaces support focused group work and informal study.
A retractable whiteboard wall allows the same space to expand for full-class instruction and presentation.
The Village Coffee House anchors the HELV as an informal gathering space, offering daylight, flexible seating, and connections to the surrounding landscape.
The renovation introduces three new classrooms, each equipped with the latest technology to enhance the learning experience.

The next chapter for the HELV

Phase 1 has established the HELV as a vibrant home for entrepreneurial life at Babson. The renovation redefined the building’s relationship to campus, introducing a clear point of arrival and a more confident public presence that reflects the ambition of the programs within. Future phases will build on that foundation, expanding learning environments and gathering spaces that further the Village’s mission and extend its impact.

BEFORE: The inward-focused main entry was transformed with expanded glazing and a new patio that extends entrepreneurial life outdoors.
Project impact
The Goody Clancy team did an amazing job with all the details…layouts, storefronts, ceilings, finishes, light fixtures, sliding white boards, furniture…Loved it all.
Kate DulmaineFormer Project Manager, Babson University
  • 75,000

    GSF transformed into collaborative academic environments

  • 282

    Beds integrated into a living-learning entrepreneurial community

For more information on this page:

Project Team

Cavanaugh Tocci


Code Red Consultants


Dharam Consulting


Envision Strategies


LeMessurier

Long Green Specs

McCann Systems

Nitsch Engineering

Richard Burke Associates

Rist-Frost Shumway Engineering (a Salas O’Brien Company)

Stefura Associates

Vantage Technology Consulting Group

Photography

Robert Umenhoffer

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