Architecture & Design | August 15, 2014

Harvard renews Dunster House

House Renewal reaches a whole new scale.

From The September-October 2014 Issue

Having practiced the art and craft of House renewal on parts of Quincy and Leverett houses, the College is now renovating an entire undergraduate residence. As soon as students decamped, the scaffolding went up, construction workers began stripping the roof and removing obsolete interior fixtures, and the courtyard was converted into a staging area for heavy equipment and building materials: the grass gave way to gravel and the iron gate facing the Charles River was removed for safekeeping (with the supporting towers protectively boxed). After a year-long diaspora—in part in the repurposed Inn at Harvard, which will have a swing-space dining hall—students should move back into their remade quarters in time for classes in September 2015.

Published in the September-October 2014 print issue under the headline “Dunster Deconstruction,” in the John Harvard's Journal section.

You might also like

Several people are holding a large ribbon for a ceremony outside a modern building.

Phase A of the Allston project includes a hotel, residences, and a two-acre greenway.

Star-filled night sky with the Milky Way arching over a rocky silhouette.

There’s a growing movement to curb light pollution. It starts on your front porch.

Aerial view of modern high-rise buildings surrounded by greenery and city skyline.

In a sea of red brick, the Science Center and Peabody Terrace make their mark.

Most popular

Photo montage showing Harvard’s Widener Library and the edifice of the Supreme Court divided by a gavel.

The Supreme Court Affirmative Action Rulings: An Analysis

The underlying arguments project clashing worldviews of race and appropriate remedies.

A blue refrigerator covered with animal pictures, notes, and drawings, surrounded by greenery.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Dani Rodrik profiled by Marina Bolotnikova

Dani Rodrik’s views on trade, development, and democracy enter the mainstream.

Explore More From Current Issue

Colorful abstract design resembling an octopus with intricate swirls and patterns.

Research

Growing liver implants, mapping the sense of smell, and journalism at risk

Black and white photo of Joseph Murray in a white lab coat sitting in an office.

Alumni Profiles

Nobel Prize recipient Joseph E. Murray dedicated much of his career to organ transplant surgery.

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Harvard History

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.