NEW MATERIALS
The new materials for the Campus Center are distinct from but complementary to the existing building fabric. A new architecture of steel, glass, timber, and stone sits alongside the in situ Brutalist concrete and traditional iron spot brick-paved sidewalks of Cambridge. The detailing and connection of the new structures and materials were designed to express and celebrate their construction, as well as to show a clear differentiation between old and new. Materials were also chosen to reflect the nature and use of the spaces within. The first-floor public areas are more robustly detailed with the upper levels softened by more natural materials, carpets and furnishings.
The introduction of the new landscaped vitrine in the center of the building brings light and greenery into the heart of the new common spaces. It is a key architectural feature within them, operating as a natural point of gathering and focus, as well as a permeable screen between the activities in the arcade and the Commons. Along with the arcade’s green walls, these landscaped spaces and features allow occupants to experience and enjoy greenery and landscape year-round. The quality of the light filtered through the trees and plants creates places of repose, calm and pause throughout the structure.
Originally, Sert had playfully used color throughout the building as part of its architectural language but this was entirely lost over time. Taking inspiration from his palette of primary and complementary neutral tones, color was reintroduced to the Campus Center. On the interior, bold blocks of it enliven the space and create legibility and character; on the exterior, vibrancy and freshness has been restored to the façades as originally intended.
Sert’s precast concrete fins and different window dimensions animated his façades with contrast between translucent panels and clear glass. Elevations broke with modernist practice by changing alignments that establish rhythms of figure and ground from floor-to-floor. Accumulated concrete fractures and glazing failures realized over five decades necessitated a meticulous renovation of all façades by our firm. Bruner/Cott Architects has a venerable history in the restoration and renovation of mid-century buildings and had recently renewed Sert’s Boston University School of Law Tower—a concrete structure contemporary with Holyoke Center—the learnings from which were applied to the Campus Center.
Simpson, Gumpertz + Heger conducted a study to predict the extent of necessary repairs and concrete replacement on the façades. Hopkins Architects’ design team then designated which portions should remain, which should be removed and how the newly designed sections should relate to the original architecture. We initiated extensive testing to determine best processes for the façades’ renewal. First, the building was cleaned, and the right mixes of cement, lime and aggregate were determined to match the existing concrete of its architectural surfaces. Physical repair of spalling, fractures and concrete cracks ensued, followed by the application of solar/safety films to the building’s windows. Following restoration, the application of Sert’s colors on the vision panels across the windows brought the façades back to life. They now serve as backdrops for newly designed outdoor spaces with ample accessible café-style seating, chess tables, new lighting and many new trees.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Stakeholder outreach throughout the entire process ensured the Smith Campus Center project aligned with the needs and hopes of the entire Harvard community. The close relationship between client and architects, as well as project consultants, ensured this outreach had a meaningful effect on the design and related initiatives, evidenced by the building’s immediate success upon opening. This formative project provided an opportunity to create a new place for the university and its surrounding community to come together, responding to Sert’s architecture in a manner that is transformative and dynamic but which, with each intervention, is grounded in and sympathetic to the history and design of the building.
Retrofit Team
DESIGN ARCHITECT: Hopkins Architects, London
EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: Bruner/Cott Architects, Boston
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Consigli Construction, Boston
COST ESTIMATOR: Faithful+Gould, London
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Cambridge, Mass.
ENGINEER: Arup, Boston, and Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Waltham, Mass.
CABINETWORK AND CUSTOM WOODWORK: Millwork One, Cranston, R.I.
FAST FACTS
- OPENING DATE: Sept. 20, 2018
- CONSTRUCTION START: Enabling works/façade restoration: March 2015; Main build/Campus Center restoration: April 2016
- SIZE: Entire build: 96,242 square feet; Holyoke Pavilion: 23,300 square feet; Moise Y. Safra Welcome Pavilion: 15,875 square feet; Dunster Street Pavilion: 5,800 square feet
- BUILDING TIMELINE: 1958: First Holyoke design proposal issued by Josep Lluis Sert, dean of Harvard Graduate School of Design since 1953; 1966: Construction of the Holyoke Center completed; 1970: Greenery in Forbes Plaza hardscaped; 1984: Concrete fins on the façade replaced with aluminum; 1986: Au Bon Pain “greenhouse” extension constructed; 1989: 10th-floor terraces enclosed for office space; 1992: Ground floor and arcade renovated; 1999: Arcade given glass wall and north arcade doors; 2013: Request for proposals issued for a new Campus Center as part of then Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust’s “One Harvard” campaign; 2013: Hopkins Architects selected as design architect and Bruner/Cott Architects as executive architect for the Campus Center; 2015: Designs completed, project tendered and Consigli appointed as main contractor; 2016: Works commence onsite; 2018: Campus Center officially opened in the presence of Lawrence S. Bacow, Harvard University president; President Emerita Drew Gilpin Faust; Richard A. Smith, Harvard College ’46, donor; and Chella Safra, widow of Moise Safra and donor of Moise Y. Safra Welcome Pavilion
MATERIALS
EXTERIOR CLADDING
ACM PANELS: Alcoa Architectural Products, now Arconic
INSULATED METAL PANELS: Dimension Series and Metal Wrap from CENTRIA
STEEL CURTAINWALL: Roschmann Group
EXTERIOR LOUVERS: PL-5700 from Construction Specialties Group
EXTERIOR DECK TILES: Thermal Ash by Thermory USA ROOFING
MEMBRANE ROOFING: Sika Sarnafil
GREEN ROOF ASSEMBLY: American Hydrotech GLAZING
GLASS FLOOR SYSTEM: Greenlite Glass Systems
INSULATED GLASS UNITS: Saint-Gobain
INTERIOR GLASS: Cristacurva and Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope
DOORS: ENTRANCES: C.R. Laurence Co. Inc.
METAL DOORS: Apex Industries
SLIDING DOORS: Keller Minimal Windows
HARDWARE
LOCKSETS: Schlage
CLOSERS: LCN
EXIT DEVICES: Von Duprin and Blumcraft from C.R. Laurence Inc.
PULLS: Ives
CONVEYANCE
ELEVATORS: Otis
CUSTOM VERTICAL PLATFORM LIFT: Garaventa Lift with Handi-Lift Inc. INTERIOR FINISHES
ACOUSTICALLY TRANSPARENT PANELS: Claro from Decoustics
CEILING CLOUD PANELS: Island from Rockfon
ACOUSTICAL PLASTER: StarSilent from Pyrok
SUSPENSION GRID: Armstrong Ceiling & Wall Solutions
PAINTS AND STAINS: Sherwin-Williams and Tnemec Inc.
LINEAR WOOD CEILING PANELS: Cross Piece Grille from 9Wood
PLASTIC LAMINATE: Wilsonart
SOLID SURFACING: DuPont Corian
STONE: Crème Ole Marble and Alcove Bluestone
TILE: Custom color from Daltile
RUBBER SHEET FLOORING: Noraplan Sentica from Nora
BROADLOOM AND TILE CARPET: New Stratford (fly ash removed) from Bentley
RAISED FLOORING: Tate Access Floors
VERTICAL GARDENS (Green Walls): Plant Wall Design and Vertical Gardens Technology and Installation by Brightview
MODULAR BRICK PAVERS: Endicott SPECIALTIES
EXPANSION JOINTS: MM Systems
CEMENTITIOUS FIREPROOFING: Grace Construction Products
INTUMESCENT FIREPROOFING: Cafco from Isolatek International
CHESS TABLES: Landscape Forms
PHOTOS: RICHARD MANDELKORN