RAY LAVIETES PAVILION, Cambridge, Mass.
Retrofit Team
ARCHITECT: Bruner/Cott & Associates
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: Consigli Construction Co.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Foley Buhl Roberts & Associates Inc.
MEP, AV, IT, FIRE, SECURITY ENGINEER: BR+A
ACOUSTIC CONSULTANT: Acentech
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: Lewis Lighting Design
ATHLETIC CONSULTANT: Sasaki Associates Inc.
Materials
New white oak paneling and flashed red brick add resilience, character and connect the interior spaces throughout the building with a unified palette. New climate control systems, all-LED lighting, modern audiovisual amenities, wayfinding strategies and landscape improvements are also vital components of the project. The following is a sampling of materials used in the renovation:
HIGH PRESSURE DECORATIVE LAMINATE: Nevamar
FACE BRICK: Glen-Gery
INSULATION: Thermafiber from Owens Coming
MASONRY MOISTURE MANAGEMENT: Mortar Net from Mortar Net Solutions
CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEMS: Siemens Industry Inc.
LED LIGHTING: TivoTape from Tivoli Lighting; Regolo by Nulite; Perseus Series from Xeleum; Classix 6-inch Downlight and Classix 6-inch Round Lensed WW Recessed LED from Amerlux; and Lightplane 3.5 – LP3.5 from Light Forms
AV AMENITIES: Crestron; Extron; Blackmagic Design; Chief from Legrand; Middle Atlantic Products; and Integra
The Retrofit
First constructed in 1926 as Briggs Athletic Center, the pavilion is the second-oldest basketball arena in NCAA Division I. It was subsequently named for Raymond P. Lavietes, a Harvard basketball star and philanthropist who funded an earlier renovation of the facility. The $15.5 million revitalization of the pavilion was completed for the 2017-18 basketball season. A major goal of the Bruner/Cott & Associates’ 35,556-square-foot restoration, renovation and new construction initiative was to celebrate the intimacy and historic charm of the venerable structure while showcasing the story of Harvard basketball and athletics there.
Bruner/Cott architects worked to weave 21st-century amenities into the existing building fabric. As the smallest basketball stadium in the Ivy League, there were many space constraints. Found space below the bleachers was utilized to free up the plan. The previous bleachers were retractable, but the team discovered if the top portion was fixed and only the lower was retractable then it could fit new toilet rooms, storage rooms, a concessions venue, training rooms and mechanical rooms while providing all the space needed for two practice courts and without reducing seating capacity.
A 2-story addition on the south side of the original building houses a new entrance lobby, ticket windows, merchandise shops, concession areas, team lounges and coaches’ offices. Renovations to the stadium’s interior include new home and visitor locker rooms, spectator seating media spaces, restrooms and meeting rooms.
PHOTOS: RICHARD MANDELKORN