Smaller is Beautiful

When Harvard's initial plans for a new center for government and international studies were poorly received by the Mid-Cambridge Neighborhood Conservation District Commission, architect Henry Cobb '47, M.Arch. '49, swiftly came up with a new design (see "Back to the Drawing Board," July-August, page 79). So swiftly, in fact, that Harvard had only provisionally approved them before they were presented to the commission. Now the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) planning committee has reviewed the new plans and, says FAS administrative dean Nancy Maull, "The reaction was positive. The challenge now is to work with Harry [Cobb] and his colleagues to fit the academic and research aspirations of the faculty into this new, smaller design." Above, looking west at the two buildings, which face each other across Cambridge Street. Right, the north building, with its crown of energy-efficient, shaded glass, as seen from the lawn behind the Graduate School of Design.