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 glass composite planned for use on the building’s north and south curtain walls.
The school is hopeful this will also provide an opportunity for students to experience a renovation project in person. Studios will be inaccessible over the summer until work is completed.
“One of the great rehabilitation challenges of our era is to dramatically improve the durability and sustainability of mid-twentieth-century structures while maintaining the architectural essence and character-defining features of these buildings,” David Fixler, the chair of GSD’s building committee, said, before stating his hopes that the project could become a “poster child” for similar buildings.
Harvard GSD also recently unveiled its new visual identity that was “derived from self-reflexive inquiry, [and] both embodies and represents the GSD’s pedagogical mission.”
The school will provide an update once the renovations are completed.
3 Comments
Are Herzog & De Meuron and Beyer Blinder Belle still involved with the project?
Sounds like no, as "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"...
More info can be found here
That new tower project by HdeM and BBB, which was supposed to be constructed at the basketball court, has been mothballed for quite some time. The only images released were from Olgiati's losing competition entry.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.