Project Description
In March of 2004, KMW was engaged to conduct a feasibility study for the renovation of Harvard University’s Littauer Hall, a four-story, granite-faced building of 87,000 sf, just north of the historic College Yard and opposite H.H. Richardson’s Austin Hall. The two objectives of the study were to: (a) identify the quantitative and qualitative programmatic goals of the Economics Department and the Government Documents Library, which shared the building; and (b) develop and evaluate five options for the possible renovation and program accommodation of Littauer, representing different scopes of intervention, infrastructure replacement, space expansion and cost. All schemes sought to meet the following challenges and opportunities:
1. Create an environment that expresses the intellectual vigor and dynamic character of the Economics Department through the planning and design of work, teaching and library spaces.
2. Create circulation spaces with permeable boundaries allowing people to observe the activity as they move through the building and provide opportunities for contact and communication.
3. Provide quality environmental conditions and infrastructure in the form of fresh air, temperature control, sufficient electrical power and data communications to all work, teaching and library spaces.
The process featured meetings with all constituencies inhabiting the building --faculty, administrative staff, graduate students, and librarians. The proposals are currently under review by the Deans of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
