Publications

March 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Teaching Note

Moving Science: The Rowland Institute at Harvard

By: Maria Roche

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 724-441. View Details

Keywords: Optics; Engineering; Higher Education; Strategy; Science; Buildings and Facilities; Research and Development; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

September 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Community Solutions was an anti-homelessness nonprofit founded in 2011 after protagonist Rosanne Haggerty grew frustrated with the limited impact of traditional housing and outreach strategies. It set an ambitious goal, reached in some partner communities, of ending... View Details

Keywords: Change; Change Management; Disruption; Transformation; Communication; Communication Strategy; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Social Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Capital Budgeting; Capital Markets; Country; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Housing; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Leading Change; Resource Allocation; Mission and Purpose; Performance Evaluation; Performance Improvement; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Opportunities; Social Enterprise; Nonprofit Organizations; Human Needs; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Poverty; Welfare; Well-being; System; Equality and Inequality; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States; New York (city, NY); Florida; Texas

December 2019
Case

WeWork Files for an IPO

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

For the board of The We Company—better known as WeWork—August 14, 2019, promised to be a pivotal day. It was then that WeWork’s IPO prospectus, known as an S-1 filing, would be made public, giving potential investors, the media, and the general public a window into the... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Going Public; Leadership; Management; Private Equity; Valuation; Venture Capital; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States

July 1989 (Revised May 2004)
Case

Colonial Homes

By: David E. Bell

Colonial Homes supplies a complete raw materials package to build entire homes. The price of the package is guaranteed at the signing of the sales contract, while delivery (and payment) are not effected for up to six months. In an effort to reduce its exposure to... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Contracts; Price; Price Bubble; Fluctuation; Monopoly; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

September 2002 (Revised May 2008)
Case

The Arts Property and Hotel

By: Arthur I Segel and Ani M Vartanian

Julio Martinez finds himself as one of the owners of the Arts Hotel Project in Barcelona, Spain. The 455-room hotel is managed by the Ritz Carlton and is in a 44-story tower along Barcelona's beachfront. Julio needs to figure out a strategy to maximize his investment,... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Property; Strategy; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Barcelona

May 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Westfield America

By: William J. Poorvu, Richard S. Tedlow and Daniel J. Rudd

The company is attempting to duplicate its Australian formula for successful mall ownership in the U.S. market. It must deal with rapidly evolving financial markets while recognizing and capitalizing on emerging trends in retailing. View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Adaptation; Financial Markets; Property; Trends; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Australia; United States

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February 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Arup: Building the Water Cube

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Dilyana Karadzhova

Arup, an engineering firm, collaborated with PTW Architects and China Construction Design Institute to develop a design for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Aquatics Center design competition. Their winning concept for the Water Cube combined elements of Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Environmental Sustainability; Design; Construction; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Projects; Groups and Teams; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Beijing; Sydney

26 Feb 2013
First Look

First Look: Feb. 26

Hoogervorst return momentum to IFRS? Purchase this case:http://hbr.org/search/113089-PDF-ENG Pioneers in Colombia Retsinas, Nicolas P., and Lisa StropeHarvard Business School Case 212-050 In 2011, Equity International made a $75 million equity investment in... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

16 Apr 2013
First Look

First Look: April 16

publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) to her fellow board members and company management. The case explores interpersonal communications, influencing one's peers, leadership style, and board... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2019
Case

Bjarke Ingels Group

By: Boris Groysberg and Aldo Sesia

Danish-born Bjarke Ingels is regarded as a giant in the field of architecture. He started his firm—the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)—in 2005 in Copenhagen. Fourteen years later, the firm has additional offices in New York City, London, and Barcelona and employs over 500... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Design; Growth Management; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Talent and Talent Management; Urban Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Denmark; Spain; United Kingdom; United States; New York (city, NY)

October 2013 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Bridges Ventures

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Sarah Appleby

Bridges Ventures, a UK-based impact investor with double-digit returns on its investments, is reflecting on its social impact and pondering its future course. View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; United Kingdom; Financial And Social Return; Social Enterprise; Investment Portfolio; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; United Kingdom

October 2009 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

Genzyme Center (A), (B) & (C)

By: Michael W. Toffel

Teaching Note for [610008], [610009], and [610010]. View Details

Keywords: Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environmental Operations; Environmental Protection; Environmental Regulation; Standard Setting; Standards; Environmental Accounting; Engineering; Governance; Energy; Economics; Operations; Projects; Social Enterprise; Infrastructure; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

23 Jan 2008
Op-Ed

A House Divided: Investment or Shelter?

Dictionaries are not static. Some words go unused for so long that lexicographers dub them archaic. Definitions also gravitate to that catch-bin. The plummeting housing market has forced a reevaluation, not just of the financial value of a home, but of its meaning.... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas; Real Estate; Real Estate; Real Estate

01 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

How to Choose the Best Deal

trading partner, you're operating in a micromarket. You may be able to make it function to your advantage, but you have to be prepared for a downturn. If the local real estate market is slow, Jim may be the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler

April 1999
Case

General Property Trust

By: Peter Tufano

In 1994 General Property Trust, an Australian property investment trust, was anticipating future cash needs beyond those that the Trust could fund with internal cash flows. The managers of the Trust were considering a novel financing structure whereby it would sell... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Financial Institutions; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Australia

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August 2008
Teaching Note

North Goes East (TN)

By: Nicolas P. Retsinas and Ben Creo

Teaching Note for [208136]. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Investment Funds; Partners and Partnerships; Investment Return; Leadership Style; Opportunities; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry; Europe

February 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Moving Science: The Rowland Institute at Harvard

By: Maria P. Roche

Set in 2022, this case describes the considerations involved in organizing the physical relocation of the Rowland Institute at Harvard (RIH), a research institute established in 1980 by Edwin H. Land, the founder of the Polaroid Corporation, for the advancement of... View Details

Keywords: Optics; Engineering; Higher Education; Strategy; Science; Buildings and Facilities; Research and Development; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry

April 2020 (Revised July 2020)
Case

Teton Capital Partners, LLC: Free Fallin'

By: Nori Gerardo Lietz

Keywords: Private Equity; Financial Crisis; Real Estate Industry; Real Estate Industry