As the home to Harvard's Hasty Pudding Theatricals—the oldest theatrical company in the nation—12 Holyoke Street had its share of opening nights. In April 2002, however, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences decided the 1888 Georgian Revival building no longer met the needs of the company and hired Boston-based architect Leers Weinzapfel Associates to design a more contemporary facility.
The goal: construct a large, modern theater and space for arts activities while keeping the building's historical details intact. The $23 million project included restoring the building's façade and anteroom bay and tearing down the existing theater to make room for an addition.
Before the show could go on, the Building Team had to deal with a cramped site whose property lines were only 18 inches from adjacent buildings' foundations. Municipal height restrictions added to the complexity, so the team had no choice but to build down. They used a slurry wall foundation system, which prevents groundwater encroachment and can be built immediately next to adjacent properties.
On each side of the façade, two symmetrical entrances—with stone slab steps, a wooden roof, and glass and brick details—are an integral part of the building's character. In order to construct the slurry walls and bring in excavation equipment, the team had to remove the building's south front porch. Construction manager Kevin Sullivan of Shawmut Design and Construction, Boston, used drawings, blueprints, and photographs to document the original porch. Much of the original granite, brick, and stone were reused in the new porch.
Perhaps the biggest obstacle was fitting a crane onto the small site. Not wanting to station it on Holyoke Street—a one-lane, one-way residential street—the team threaded a 130-foot-tall self-erecting tower crane through an eight-and-a-half-foot alley, leaving just two inches on each side. Extra care had to be taken while using the crane to deliver steel support beams, HVAC equipment, lighting and acoustic systems, and two stage lifts.
“This was an extremely difficult, tight site,” said Reconstruction Awards judge Jeff Pratt, principal with KJWW Engineering Consultants, Naperville, Ill. “The design and construction team had to work closely to solve significant logistical issues.”
Today 12 Holyoke Street—now dubbed New College Theatre—features a 274-seat theater, rehearsal space, a prop shop, orchestra and stage lifts, and a dance studio. As required by the city's historic commission, the addition is hidden behind the historic façade, giving it much the same street presence as it has had for the last 119 years.
Related Stories
| Jun 18, 2014
Study shows walkable urbanism has positive economic impact
Walkable communities have a higher GDP, greater wealth, and higher percentages of college grads, according to a new study by George Washington University.
| Jun 18, 2014
Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components
The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.
| Jun 16, 2014
6 U.S. cities at the forefront of innovation districts
A new Brookings Institution study records the emergence of “competitive places that are also cool spaces.”
| Jun 13, 2014
First look: BIG's spiraling museum for watchmaker Audemars Piguet
The glass-and-steel pavilion's spiral structure acts as a storytelling device for the company's history.
| Jun 12, 2014
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects' design selected for new UCSC facility
The planned site is a natural landscape among redwood trees with views over Monterey Bay, a site that the architects have called “one of the most beautiful they have ever worked on.”
| Jun 12, 2014
Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method
Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.
| Jun 11, 2014
David Adjaye’s housing project in Sugar Hill nears completion
A new development in New York's historic Sugar Hill district nears completion, designed to be an icon for the neighborhood's rich history.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
| Jun 4, 2014
Want to design a Guggenheim? Foundation launches open competition for proposed Helsinki museum
This is the first time the Guggenheim Foundation has sought a design through an open competition. Anonymous submissions for stage one of the competition are due September 10, 2014.
| Jun 4, 2014
Construction team named for Atlanta Braves ballpark
A joint venture between Barton Malow, Brasfield & Gorrie, Mortenson Construction, and New South Construction will build the Atlanta Braves ballpark, which is scheduled to open in early 2017. Check out the latest renderings of the plan.
