360° Views of Harvard’s Most Memorable Spaces

Outgoing Harvard President, Drew Faust, took some time to reflect on her favorite spaces on campus. She shared with The Harvard Gazette the places, times, and ways Harvard marked her, including times of joy, laughter, sorrow, and poignancy. From the recently-renovated Lavietes Basketball Pavilion to the Smith Campus Center currently under construction, Bruner/Cott is responsible for many of Faust’s favorite and most memorable spaces during her ten years as president. The following 360° videos will allow you to experience these projects through her eyes.

 

Lavietes Basketball Pavilion

“I remember very soon after I became president, attending a women’s basketball game and celebrating with them my ascension to female power.”

First constructed in 1926, Lavietes Pavilion is the second-oldest active basketball facility in the United States; a major goal of the project is to celebrate the intimacy and historic charm of the building and showcase the history of Harvard Basketball and Harvard Athletics. Bruner/Cott has been a part of the growth of the Lavietes Pavilion since its first renovation in the 1980s when it was the Briggs Athletic Center. Read more.

 

Memorial Hall 

“It’s hard for me to believe that this wonderful building and that wonderful space was left almost to disuse.”

In collaboration with Venturi, Scott Brown, Bruner/Cott restored the historic shell and upgraded the building to contemporary standards. The restored space boasts hammerbeam trusses, stained glass windows, stenciled ceiling details, walnut paneling, new flooring and custom-designed furniture. Bruner/Cott was responsible for the entire 15,000 sf food service operation, including a total kitchen redesign, new serveries, and Loker Student Commons on the lower level. Read more.

 

Knafel Center (Radcliffe Gymnasium)

“Radcliffe alums not only used that balcony as a track, they had to learn how to lower themselves on a rope from the balcony onto the floor because it was believed that it would be important for women to know how to use a rope to get out of a burning building.”

Radcliffe Gymnasium was designed in 1898 by McKim Mead & White as a gym for students at Radcliffe College. The reinterpreted gymnasium is now a lecture and event salon for the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in Radcliffe Yard. The Gymnasium’s versatile, multi-use spaces are popular with the entire Harvard community. The large second-floor lecture space — used every day for informal gatherings and study — can be easily converted into a formal setting for social events, with full provisions for catering. The upper-level former running track is now a “walking and talking” track for discussions and informal viewing of presentations and lectures. Read more.

 

Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center

“A university-wide space, in which people could bump into each other, share ideas, find spaces in which to have meetings for their organizations and groups, and embody the sort of unity that I felt would strengthen the university.”

The 1960-65 Holyoke Center by Josep Lluis Sert in Harvard Square is undergoing a major transformation to attract and mix the varied constituencies within the university – faculty, undergraduates, staff, graduate students, and engaged visitors. Bruner/Cott is working with the Harvard client team and design architect, Hopkins Architects of London on extensive programming and sensitive transformation of this campus icon. Construction work, including façade restoration, additions, and interiors, began in the spring of 2016 and is slated for completion in 2018. Read more.

 

To read the entire Harvard Gazette article, click here. Congratulations to Drew Faust on a wonderful career at Harvard University!

Waltham Watch Factory Honored by Victorian Society in America

The New England chapter of the Victorian Society in America (VSA/NE) honored the Waltham Watch Factory at their 46th Annual Preservation Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. The Watch Factory project was awarded the Building & Landscape Design award.

Completed in three phases, the building and site are now resourcefully reordered for new office, residential and commercial use. 19th century entrances are now large lobbies, one with a permanent exhibit of Watch Factory history. Narrow wings with high ceilings — already flooded with natural light for watchmakers — house modern offices with views of the courtyards and the Charles River. Outside, a series of protected outdoor spaces invite pedestrians to move through the office buildings and a large residential courtyard. A new restaurant and café mark the beginning of a historic walkway through Waltham along the Charles River.

Thank you to the Victorian Society in America/New England chapter for this honor, as well as to our client, Berkeley Investments, and the Landscape Architect on the project, Richard Burck Associates.

Macalester’s Institute of Global Citizenship Renamed for Notable Alumnus

The institute for Global Citizenship at Macalester College (St. Paul, MN), is being renamed the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship following a unanimous vote by the Macalester College Board of Trustees. Annan is the Founding Chair of the Kofi Annan Foundation, the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, winner of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, and member of the Macalester class of 1961. This rededication honors Annan’s global leadership and dedication to peace.

The Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship is housed in Markim Hall, a 16,675-sf facility completed by Bruner/Cott in 2009. Markim Hall was one of the first campus buildings in the United States to earn LEED Platinum Certification, the highest level certification for energy efficiency and environmental design awarded by the USGBC. The building’s design and construction align with the institute’s mission and reflects the college’s deep commitment to sustainable practices and responsible citizenship.

 

The Kern Center Receives Living Building Certification!

We are thrilled to announce that the R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College in Amherst , MA has finally been certified as a Living Building by the Living Future Institute! We are very proud of this accomplishment.

Completed in 2016, the Kern Center is now the 18th Living Certified project in the world (17th Living Certified building), the 3rd Living Certified building in Massachusetts, and the 5th largest Living Certified project in the world (by gross building area).

 

About the Living Building Challenge:

The Living Building Challenge is a green building certification program and sustainable design framework that visualizes the ideal for the built environment. It encourages teams to think holistically to find solutions that tackle multiple issues at once, for instance, projects must integrate local culture, biophilic elements, and beauty in order to foster community and natural connections.

The program outlines a design framework that promotes the highest standard of sustainability for the built environment. Rather than a checklist of current best practices, the Living Building Challenge includes a series of performance goals that empower teams to find creative design solutions.

To learn more about the Living Building Challenge, visit the International Living Future website.

 

Congratulations to Hampshire College and all members of the Kern Center team, including:

Bruner/Cott Architects
Living Building Challenge Advisor: Bruce Coldham
Construction Manager: Wright Builders
Code Consulting: Cutler Consulting
Cost Estimating: A.M. Fogarty & Associates Inc.
Energy and Systems Consulting: South Mountain Company
LBC Material Vetting: Integrated Eco Strategy
Lighting Design: Lewis Lighting Design, LLC  
Specifications: Kalin Associates
Electrical Engineering: R.W. Sullivan
Fire Protection Engineering: Rybak Engineering
Geotechnical Engineering: O’Reilly, Talbot & Okun Associates
Mechanical, Plumbing, & Controls Engineering: Kohler & Lewis Engineers
Site/Civil Engineering & Permitting: Berkshire Design Group
Structural Engineering: Foley Buhl Roberts & Associates
Landscape Architecture: Richard Burke Associates

Hampshire College Goes 100% Solar

At Bruner/Cott, we know Hampshire College best for being home to the R.W. Kern Center, a project we completed in 2016 that was designed to meet the rigorous requirements of the Living Building Challenge. The building aims to make a lasting impression on all who enter by demonstrating Hampshire’s commitment to a sustainable future, while inspiring the next generation of leaders in environmentally conscious practices. The Kern Center is completely self-sustaining, generating its own energy, capturing its own water, and processing its own waste. Just last year, the building generated 28% more solar electricity than it used.

However, Hampshire’s commitment to going green does not stop at the Kern Center. The entire college is now running completely on solar power generated on its campus as part of its Climate Action Plan and Sustainability initiative. This initiative includes rooftop solar arrays, like the ones on the roof of the R.W. Kern Center, on structures such as the CSA Barn, the president’s house, and the canopy on top of the Chuck and Polly Longsworth Arts Center.

“There’s a major shift in the way the world makes energy,” said Hampshire College President, Jonathan Lash. “Who’s going to design new energy systems and manage that transition? It will be students like ours who were on a campus that went 100-percent solar and who studied these systems and their impacts. This makes a difference to our educational mission. This is the economy of the future.”

Congratulations to all at Hampshire College for this achievement in sustainability!

To learn more, visit the Hampshire College website.

Frost Terrace Wins Unanimous City Approval

Last month, the 1791 Mass Ave/Frost Terrace project was unanimously approved by the Cambridge Board of Zoning Appeal. This development will create 40 new, long-term, completely affordable homes for families and individuals in the Porter Square neighborhood. It is transit-oriented, providing future tenants with immediate pedestrian and bicycle access to the Porter Square T and commercial district, reducing the need to own cars.

The hearing lasted 3.5 hours, with deliberations surrounding issues such as lack of parking spaces. However, the design team did receive praise for its responsiveness to the comments of the Planning Board and the project’s ability to house “40 families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to live in Cambridge.” By the end of the evening, all five board members voted in favor of the permit.

Read more about the Zoning Board Hearing.

About 1791 Mass Ave:

Bruner/Cott is working with Capstone Communities and Hope Real Estate Enterprises to transform and expand an existing run-down 19th-century home into new housing. 1791 Mass Ave will provide long-term affordable housing for families and individuals with a design that complements the existing neighborhood and historic context, incorporates environmental sustainability, and promotes alternative transportation.

Visit the project website to learn more.

 

Somerville ArtFarm under way!

The process of creating the Somerville ArtFarm is well under way! A public meeting held on December 14th gave updates on the final program and next steps for the project.

ArtFarm embodies the intersection between art, sustainability, and community. As part of the project team led by over,under, Bruner/Cott is working on Phase One of the project, the design and construction of initial site improvements. These include building a greenhouse and community garden beds, depaving work, ADA upgrades, and green infrastructure. Phase 2 (coming Summer 2018) adds the ArtBarn, a versatile community space for performance, display, eating, moving, and gathering. Roof-mounted solar panels, soil remediation, and strategic planting will also make the site a hub of “greenovation” for the City of Somerville.

Learn more about the project, team, and timeline at the Somerville Arts Council site.

*Rendering courtesy over,under.