In early March, the 80-seat Heights Restaurant & Bar opened on the 10th floor of the Smith Campus Center at Harvard University, in the heart of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass. This is the latest addition to a “common spaces” initiative that Harvard’s former President Drew Faust launched in 2008 to create a singular area on campus where thousands of faculty, students, staff, and visitors can congregate.
Harvard now boasts 385,000 sf of dedicated community space within the H-shaped Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center. The public can access the first floor and most of the second floor of the Center, which along with the 10th floor underwent a 36-month reconstruction and renovation that was completed last September, and entailed the excavation of 975 tons of demolition debris.
This project’s community and user outreach was extensive, with 25 focus groups and a survey that received 600 responses. The University also conducted a furniture showcase in the fall of 2016, around the same time that construction began.
Harvard University's “One Harvard” concept creates a gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and the community. Image: Courtesy of Consigli Construction
These efforts helped inform the redesigns by Hopkins Architects. (Bruner/Cott & Associates was the executive architect.) Consigli Construction executed the complete gutting of the 10th floor, and selective remodeling on the two lower floors that include the Moise Y. Safra Welcome Pavilion and Plaza, says Todd McCabe, Consigli’s Vice President-Project Services, who with John Lehane, the firm’s Project Manager, spoke with BD+C last week.
The renovation recreated the building’s Arcade (where most of the restaurants are) from a dungeon-like “two stories of concrete,” says Lehane, to a more inviting space with “more glass, new programming, and a large landscape area” with three or four green walls irrigated with UV-filtered rainwater. (Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates was the landscape architect.)
He says that one of this project’s biggest challenges was restoring the building’s façade and expanding the former Holyoke Center, which required the structural demolition of a two-story annex over a parking garage and then putting a three-story building in its place. The building’s “front door” is now highlighted by a two-story curtainwall. There’s also a three-story curtainwall on the Holyoke Street side of the building.
The remodeled building includes several green walls that are irrigated by UV-filtered rainwater. Image: Consigli Construction
Outside, new plazas open onto two thoroughfares.
Lehane notes that “what often gets overlooked” in projects like these is the MEP system. Working with engineer Arup, Consigli dedicated a MEP manager to “trace out” the system in order to keep it operable, as 500 people continued to work in the Center during the renovation, and thousands more walked through it every day. (The Center houses several of the university’s departments as well as Harvard University Health Services.)
All told, there were between 20 and 25 Building Team members on this project, says McCabe, including Consigli’s VDC team, which used virtual design tools for communications and planning, especially for occupied areas within the building.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jun 7, 2022
Newfoundland university STEM building emulates natural elements, local traditions
Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) recently opened a new building that will provide interdisciplinary learning and research space for Faculties of Science and Engineering.
Museums | May 31, 2022
University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district
The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.
Building Team | May 20, 2022
Caltech breaks ground on a new center to study climate and sustainability
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently broke ground on its Resnick Sustainability Resource Center.
Laboratories | May 20, 2022
Brutalist former Berkeley Art Museum transformed into modern life science lab
After extensive renovation and an addition, the former Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley campus reopened in May 2022 as a modern life science lab building.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 19, 2022
Northern Arizona University opens a new training center for its student athletes
In Flagstaff, Ariz. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has opened its new Student-Athlete High Performance Center.
University Buildings | May 16, 2022
Yale’s newly renovated Schwarzman Center enriches student campus social life
Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) recently unveiled the design of their restoration of the Schwarzman Center at Yale University, which includes dining spaces, a bar, and a food shop.
School Construction | May 11, 2022
New Digital Learning Commons at Rutgers supports doctoral programs in over 16 disciplines
The new Digital Learning Commons at the Rutgers University Archibald S. Alexander Library provides students in over 16 courses of study and four professional schools with spacious collaborative and study space.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 10, 2022
Designing smarter places of learning
This course explains the how structural steel building systems are suited to construction of education facilities.
Performing Arts Centers | May 10, 2022
A historic performance space is transformed to reinforce a campus’ Arts District
Connecticut College’s Athey Center for Performance and Research at Palmer Auditorium balances the old and new.
University Buildings | May 9, 2022
An athletic center accentuates a college’s transformation
Modern design and a student health center distinguish the new addition at The University of Saint Joseph in Connecticut.