Lowell House Renewal to Last Two Years

Lowell residents will live in swing housing from the fall of 2017 through the spring of 2019. 

Photograph by Harvard Magazine/JC

When it reopens in 2019, a renovated Lowell House will feature an updated dance studio, a student lounge, and more student common spaces. Until then, the Lowell community will live in swing housing for two years—twice as long as construction on other Houses has taken—House master Diana Eck and co-master Dorothy Austin announced last week. 

“It was a bit of a shock,” Eck admitted, when she learned the renewal would take twice as long as anticipated. Lowell’s structure, with two enclosed courtyards and many level changes, make it the “largest and most complex renewal project thus far,” she wrote in an e-mail to House members. Lowell will be the fifth House to be renovated, after Quincy, Leverett, Dunster, and Winthrop (where work is set to begin this fall).  

Lowell residents will live in the former Inn at Harvard and apartments in Harvard Square from the fall of 2017 through the spring of 2019, making it especially challenging to create a sense of House community. But Eck is optimistic: she and Austin will continue all of Lowell’s traditions, including teas at the master’s temporary residence at 8 Prescott Street and House talent shows. The experience of living in swing housing, she said, would spur “a spiritual renewal of the zeitgeist of the House,” forcing its members to work harder to maintain the House’s character.

In addition to modernizing common spaces and amenities, Lowell will be made fully accessible, as Massachusetts law requires, changing the organization of the House from vertical entryways to horizontal hallways. As in other Houses, hallway bathrooms will replace in-suite bathrooms to create space for more common rooms, though many students oppose this change. Eck has said that she will invite feedback from students about renewal plans this semester.

Just as important as the House’s planned new spaces, Eck explained, are those that will remain the same. Lowell’s distinctive dining room, junior common room, and library will be preserved to maintain the House’s historic architecture. The result, she said, will be a House that remains close to old traditions—but one “fit for twenty-first-century living.” 

Read more articles by Marina N. Bolotnikova

You might also like

Trump Administration Alleges Harvard Violated Student Civil Rights

The University’s ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism on campus are “too little, too late,” civil rights office says.

John Goldberg named Dean of Harvard Law School

A professor at HLS since 2008, he steps up from the interim role.

Nieman Foundation Names Henry Chu as Interim Curator

Veteran LA Times journalist calls attention to press freedom

Most popular

House Committee Subpoenas Harvard Over Tuition Costs

The University must turn over all requested materials related to tuition and financial aid by mid-July. 

Two Momentous Faculty Retirements

Arthur Kleinman and Harry Lewis depart the classroom.

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

Erica Chenoweth’s data shows how—and when—authoritarians fall.

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvard’s Comedy and Improv Scene

In comedy groups, students find ways to be absurd, present, and a little less self-conscious.

Julia Rooney’s Cyanotype Art At Harvard

Julia Rooney’s paintings cross the analog-digital divide.

Your Guide to Summer 2025 Along Boston Harbor

Enjoying the Boston Harbor’s Renaissance This Summer