Harvard Law School - Northwest Corner complex | Cambridge

[czsz]

Yes, architectural mediocrity pointing the way to aesthetic transience is the clear way forward for most institutions.

Sure, that argument may hold for the Gropius complex (although arguably Harvard still gains through its maintenance by becoming a minor pilgrimage site for Bauhaus fans). But if it had been applied for other buildings at Harvard, like Richardson's Austin Hall, Harvard might have lost out. I'm sure Columbia doesn't consider its hands tied by its McKim, Mead and White campus either, in retrospect.

Starchitecture may always be hit-or-miss, or at least impractical in the future. It doesn't mean we should quit risking it, when future beloved landmarks are also a possibility.

 

[ablarc]

Just how much amenity does a dorm need anyway?

 

[singbat]

Yes, architectural mediocrity pointing the way to aesthetic transience is the clear way forward for most institutions.

Sure, that argument may hold for the Gropius complex (although arguably Harvard still gains through its maintenance by becoming a minor pilgrimage site for Bauhaus fans). But if it had been applied for other buildings at Harvard, like Richardson's Austin Hall, Harvard might have lost out. I'm sure Columbia doesn't consider its hands tied by its McKim, Mead and White campus either, in retrospect.

Starchitecture may always be hit-or-miss, or at least impractical in the future. It doesn't mean we should quit risking it, when future beloved landmarks are also a possibility.

Is the Stata worth keeping forever? It is not the first, nor the best example of the master... nor even a punctuation mark at a turning point in his career.

shouldn't the motel dorms go IF:

- it isn't first, best, a turning point, or in some other way exemplary in the annals of architecture
- AND the owner is not getting value out of the buildings in their intended purpose
- AND there would be no detriment to the community fabric...

I don't expect to get a lot of agreement on these points (not worried since my opinion isn't knocking down buildings...

but what would a better set of criteria be?

 

[czsz]

Just to set the record straight about just how historic the "motel dorms" are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Graduate_Center

The Harvard Graduate Center, also known as Harkness Commons, was commissioned of The Architects Collaborative by Harvard University in 1948. The first modern building on the campus, it was also the first endorsement of the modern style by a major university and was seen in the national and architectural presses as a turning point in the acceptance of the aesthetic in the U.S.

It appears Gropius even had some very apropos opinions:

More interestingly, in justifying the placement of these innovations at Harvard, Gropius reveals his passion, and activism, for the acceptance of modernism on college campuses. Gropius makes clear statements for specific innovations, ??Our contemporary architectural conception of an intensified outdoor-indoor relationship through wide window openings and large undivided window panes has ousted the small, cage-like, ?Georgian? window.? But he is also more far reaching and makes what is now a commonplace case for architectural diversity and investment in current styles: ?If the college is to be the cultural breeding ground for the coming generation, its attitude should be creative, not imitative?

Anyway, to answer your question, being an "example of a work by a master" has been enough to save several Frank Lloyd Wright houses; I don't know why it shouldn't apply to others' work - as long as it is not the sole principle applied toward determining their continued existence.

As for the Stata Center - I'm not sure it's something we'll have to worry about for a long time yet. Kendall Square has acres of architecturally worthless boxes for MIT to plow through before it would ever need to consider eschewing Gehry's contribution.

 

[BostonMike]

Just how much amenity does a dorm need anyway?

Dorms are becoming increasingly nice--schools really can't get away with the jail cell model of dorm life anymore. Lots of articles in newspapers about this over the past few years, but I'm too lazy to look them up.

 

[singbat]

Just to set the record straight about just how historic the "motel dorms" are:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Graduate_Center

The Harvard Graduate Center, also known as Harkness Commons, was commissioned of The Architects Collaborative by Harvard University in 1948. The first modern building on the campus, it was also the first endorsement of the modern style by a major university and was seen in the national and architectural presses as a turning point in the acceptance of the aesthetic in the U.S.

It appears Gropius even had some very apropos opinions:

More interestingly, in justifying the placement of these innovations at Harvard, Gropius reveals his passion, and activism, for the acceptance of modernism on college campuses. Gropius makes clear statements for specific innovations, ??Our contemporary architectural conception of an intensified outdoor-indoor relationship through wide window openings and large undivided window panes has ousted the small, cage-like, ?Georgian? window.? But he is also more far reaching and makes what is now a commonplace case for architectural diversity and investment in current styles: ?If the college is to be the cultural breeding ground for the coming generation, its attitude should be creative, not imitative?

Anyway, to answer your question, being an "example of a work by a master" has been enough to save several Frank Lloyd Wright houses; I don't know why it shouldn't apply to others' work - as long as it is not the sole principle applied toward determining their continued existence.

interesting choice of words: "save". one person's save is another person's involuntary contribution... not intending to imply anything about specific cases, of course.

As for the Stata Center - I'm not sure it's something we'll have to worry about for a long time yet. Kendall Square has acres of architecturally worthless boxes for MIT to plow through before it would ever need to consider eschewing Gehry's contribution.

interesting -- learn something new. still looks like a motel...

here are a couple more things you could throw into the mix: economic tort and thresholds. what is your opinion there w/re Harkness Commons? (as to the Stata -- that was just a debating point attempted...)

 

[palindrome]

In my experience, most dorms i have been in come with study lounges, media rooms with large tv's, some type of recreational room (one dorm i was in had a pool table, one of the other dorms had a ping pong table), cardio/weight training rooms. Wireless internet throughout the building is a must. Cable tv is included (meaning multiple jacks - my last room had 9) Ethernet and phone jacks (also had 9 in my old room.) Individual suite climate control. Laundry rooms and more but i think you get the point

 

[czsz]

Wow, Mass. Ave. completely closed for days and all traffic lights and power lines removed? Quite the effort to accomodate this...

The old Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute at 1581-1583 Mass. Ave., along with two other structures, is slated to be moved up the street next weekend.

Harvard to move three houses, close four blocks of Mass. Ave.
By Matt Dunning/Chronicle Staff
Cambridge Chronicle

Harvard to move three houses, close four blocks of Mass. Ave.

Cambridge - What happens when there?s no more room to expand at Harvard? You move a few buildings and close down Mass. Ave.

Next weekend, construction crews plan to shut down four blocks of Massachusetts Avenue to move three historic houses one block from the Harvard Law School campus.

The structures ? two 19th-century wood-frame Victorian houses and a carriage house ? will be moved to make way for the school?s proposed Northwest Corner building on Mass. Ave.

According to Harvard spokesman Tom Lucey, four blocks of Mass. Ave., from Waterhouse Street to Wendell Street, will be closed in both directions beginning 6 p.m., Friday, June 22. Lucey said the road would reopen around 5 a.m., Monday, June 25.

?This is something we?ve been planning with the city for a number of years now,? Lucey said.

According to Lucey, the Ukrainian House and Baker House are currently being used as office space on Mass. Ave., between Everett and Jarvis streets. Once the buildings reach their new location at the corner of Mass. Ave. and Mellen Street, they will be renovated into dormitory space for graduate housing.

In order to make the move possible, Lucey said most of the power lines and traffic signals from Waterhouse Street to Wendell Street will have to be removed and reinstalled.

According to a statement released by Cambridge Department of Public Works Commissioner Lisa Peterson, the weekend move will be a joint effort between Harvard, the MBTA, private contractors and the city. According to Peterson, the city?s electrical department will be responsible for removing and replacing traffic signals and power lines, while MBTA crews will be similarly responsible for the bus catenary lines. Boston-based Shawmut Design and Construction, working on behalf of Harvard University, is responsible for coordinating with the Department of Public Works and other city departments, Peterson said.

 

[stellarfun]

the Globe has more:

3 old houses to trump traffic
Move will close Mass. Ave.

By Mac Daniel, Globe Staff | June 14, 2007

Traffic crawls on Massachusetts Avenue north of Harvard Square on a good day, so when the entire road is closed all of next weekend to make way for the slow move of two Victorian homes and a carriage house, congestion could be epic, Cambridge and Harvard officials said yesterday.

The three 19th-century buildings -- Ukrainian House, Baker House, and the carriage house -- are being moved as part of a construction project at Harvard Law School. The big move will require the closing of a small but significant section of Massachusetts Avenue at 6 p.m. June 22. It will not reopen until 5 a.m. June 25.

At one point on June 23, all three buildings will be on the road at the same time, rolling north on hydraulic lifts at 2 miles per hour.

"There's no other way to move the houses, so it was really a matter of picking the right moment," said Michael Armini, a Harvard Law School spokesman. "Doing it after commencement obviously makes a lot of sense, too."

Bad weather could delay the move until the weekend of July 6, officials said.

City manager Robert W. Healy said the last major closing of Massachusetts Avenue he could recall was in the early 1990s to film a nighttime scene for the movie "Blown Away."

"I can't recall one for this length of time, but the alternative plans have been put in place," he said. "Obviously, this will be an inconvenience. This is a place to avoid on Saturday and Sunday."

The $1 million move, which has been planned for five years, will be no small feat.

Cars, trucks, and T buses will be detoured on local roads. Harvard will offer free parking to residents at three locations on a first-come, first-served basis.

Workers with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will have to remove hanging power lines that serve trolleys. City crews will have to remove two light poles and several hanging traffic signals. A Norway maple might have to be cut down, and Harvard will pay the city $50,000 for the tree and other street beautification.

Officials have analyzed the potential impact of hundreds of tons of building inching along above the Red Line tunnel, sewer lines, and other infrastructure.

Ukrainian House weighs 200 tons, is 57 feet high, and is so wide that it will straddle the median on Massachusetts Avenue during its trip. Hydraulic lifts will distribute the weight evenly, so it should have no more impact than a tractor- trailer, Armini said.

The buildings are to be moved to a site next to a Harvard Law dorm at Massachusetts Avenue and Mellen Street. Their current location will become the law school's Northwest Corner project, where a 250,000-square-foot academic building is to be built.

"It's going to be unpleasantly busy," said Mary Ella Feinleib, 69, who has lived in the Agassiz neighborhood between Porter and Harvard squares for more than 40 years. "But it's in a good cause."

Residents are girding for the move, but for some who live near the law school, it will be nothing compared with three years of construction.

"We liked having the old houses there," said Chester G. McCarthy, superintendent of a condominium complex across the street from where the new law school building will be built. "Any kind of a nice view that you can brag about, we're losing it."

 

[czsz]

N. B. - the houses are going to be used to fill the parking lot in front of the former Holiday Inn.

 

[ablarc]

^ An improvement. Better than a parking lot.

 

[statler]

Perhaps better than 'better than a parking lot'.

Perhaps we could go so far as to say, 'a good use of available space'.

Maybe someday we will be able to say, 'best possible use of available space'. But until then...

Baby steps.

 

[justin]

I don't see why those houses are worth the hassle.

justin

 

[statler]

^^ Craftsmanship

 

[ablarc]

Perhaps we could go so far as to say, 'a good use of available space'.

Maybe someday we will be able to say, 'best possible use of available space'. But until then...

Baby steps.

Yeah, I would have looked for some other place to ship these babies to. That site deserves a sheer boulevard streetwall building of maybe eight stories or so.

Still, it's better than what's there now ...and you know what that is.

 

[czsz]

Logistics probably demanded they either go or be sent to the closest possible Harvard parking lot. Truth be told, it would have probably been impossible to take them down a side street, given they appear to be requiring Mass. Ave.'s entire width.

HLS' answer as to why the houses are worth saving:

Originally built in the mid 1870s, the houses have been used in recent years as administrative offices for Harvard Law School and other University programs. They will be converted to student housing after the relocation, which will place the houses adjacent to North Hall, an existing Law School dormitory. Extensive measures are being taken to move the houses, rather then demolish them, because of their historic nature and status as part of the fabric of the community.

Plus some more info on the move:

http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2007/06/15_housemove.php

 

[ablarc]

Logistics probably demanded they either go or be sent to the closest possible Harvard parking lot. Truth be told, it would have probably been impossible to take them down a side street, given they appear to be requiring Mass. Ave.'s entire width.

Houses are routinely cut in two and reassembled after moving.

 

[czsz]

Ah true. And they could always be dis- and re-assembled, I suppose, like the Cloisters.

 

[czsz]

HLS successfully moves three historic houses down Massachusetts Avenue
June 23, 2007

Shortly after sunrise, Harvard Law School moved three Victorian houses down Massachusetts Avenue to make room for the new Northwest Corner complex. The largest of the three buildings -- the Ukrainian House -- rolled from its location at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Jarvis Street at around 5 a.m. The other two buildings -- Baker House and the carriage house -- followed shortly after.

The houses were moved to make space on the HLS campus to build a major, new academic complex. Construction on the project will begin following the demolition of a concrete parking garage and the Wyeth Hall dormitory later this summer.

Hydraulic dollies were used to distribute the weight of the houses. At 200 tons and 57 feet wide, the Ukrainian House required 16 separate dollies, and it straddled the median as it moved the approximately 150 yards to its new location.

The houses were placed on a temporary resting spot at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Mellen Street until their permanent foundations are prepared. The buildings will be converted to student dormitories by summer 2008.

Originally built in the 1870s, the houses were most recently used as administrative offices for HLS and other University programs. Extensive measures were taken to move the houses because of their historic nature and importance as part of the fa?ade of Massachusetts Avenue.

The move was completed without complication and it is possible that Massachusetts Avenue could reopen before the orginally scheduled time of 5 a.m. on Monday. City and state crews are restoring traffic lights, street lights and the overhead lines used to power MBTA buses.

 

[Bobby Digital]

i wonder how much this cost.