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Harvard GSD completes first stage renovation of Gund Hall

2024-10-30T09:26:00-04:00

The Bruner/Cott Architects-led renovations to Gund Hall at the Harvard Graduate School of Design has concluded its first phase after work began to rehabilitate the building’s envelope at the end of the spring 2024 semester.

Both building efficiency and occupants' comfort have been improved with better insulation and an increased quality of light in most spaces as greater accessibility was made possible on the outside with the addition of new handrails and guardrails. The GSD's faculty building committee chair David N. Fixler said it was "important that the GSD project a spirit of innovation but also of legacy, of stewardship, of respect for the historic quality of [the building]."

Fixler had also previously called the project an important teaching tool for students interested in the preservation of other important mid-twentieth-century structures.

Harvard GSD details Gund Hall renovations

2023-12-21T12:06:00-05:00

Harvard’s Graduate School of Design has unveiled plans for a slate of renovations that will culminate next year and are aimed at improving the user experience for students and faculty at 51-year-old Gund Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The project will help preserve the familiar John Andrews design for new generations while serving as a model for the sustainable redevelopment of midcentury structures, the school announced. Boston-based Bruner/Cott Architects will be leading the process, leaning on its past renovation and remodeling of the Harvard Holyoke Center with Hopkins Architects that was completed in 2019.

The first phase of construction will insulate the building envelope in order to reduce energy costs and increase occupational comfort. Gund Hall’s iconic ‘trays,’ the terraced glass structures covering studio spaces will be reglazed. The GSD is testing out prototypes in Gund Hall’s 'The Pit' multiuse area and says they are especially hopeful for a hybrid vacuum-insulated ...

Herzog & de Meuron, Beyer Blinder Belle selected to transform Harvard GSD's Gund Hall

2018-07-26T14:04:00-04:00

Harvard GSD's iconic Gund Hall will undergo a significant transformation and expansion, the school announced this morning. Selected for the task are Herzog & de Meuron as design consultant and Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB) as architect of record.

Photo courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Designed by Australian architect John Andrews (himself a GSD graduate), the brutalist Gund Hall has served as the school's primary campus building since 1972. With the expansion, the administration hopes to add new space for growth and more cross-disciplinary engagement with other academic fields and programs at Harvard, primarily with the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Photo courtesy of Harvard Graduate School of Design.

"The proposed new space will encourage new forms of cross-disciplinary collaboration by creating an anchored point of intersection among the School’s current studio workspace (known as 'the trays'), facult...

From the School Blogs: Gund Hall is Naked

2011-08-22T11:26:00-04:00

Like everyone else who's heading back to school this fall, I'm not yet prepared to let go of summer. There are so many things I wanted to do but haven't yet done! I just need a bit more time. I'm not ready yet!