The building is located on the site of the existing Aiken Computation Laboratory adjacent to the Gropius dormitories. The facility extends the boundary of the DEAS to the north while reinforcing the spatial continuity between the existing courtyards to the east and west of Pierce Hall. A bridge from the Maxwell Dworkin Laboratory to Pierce Hall serves as a gate from the public realm of Oxford Street to the interior, private realm of Homes field. A brick exterior wall, detailed to complement the existing Pierce Hall wraps the building to the north. A lighter, more intricate glass wall system encloses the office bar at the south side of the building.

The Maxwell Dworkin Laboratory provides space for expansion of undergraduate teaching areas and postgraduate research labs for the computer science and electrical engineering departments. The ground floor classrooms accommodate 120, 50, and 35 people to supplement those in existing DEAS buildings. The classrooms are connected by a linear lobby located along the south side of the building, from which open stairs at either end descend into an electrical engineering teaching lab area located in the basement.

Teaching spaces include space for Teaching Fellows (TFs) to promote interaction between undergrads and TFs. Computers, accessible to all Harvard undergrads, are located throughout the ground floor to allow students to tap into the network at any time. The three upper floors consist of faculty offices; space for graduate and postgraduate students; and computer science and electrical engineering research labs. Conference rooms, lounge areas, and an open "communicating" stair are located at strategic locations to promote social and intellectual exchange.