Winthrop House Next for Renewal

Harvard will begin work in 2016, after assessing projects at Quincy, Leverett, and Dunster.

Winthrop House's Standish Hall
Winthrop House Gate

Winthrop will be the next undergraduate residence renovated as part of Harvard’s plan to renew the House system, Faculty of Arts and Sciences dean Michael D. Smith announced on October 30. Winthrop is expected to close for 15 months, from Commencement 2016 until fall 2017.

During that time, student residents will be relocated to “swing space”—apartments on Massachusetts Avenue and Prescott Street, as well as rooms in the former Inn at Harvard, where construction for converting the hotel to undergraduate use is well under way. In the years ahead, the hotel is expected to become the dining and social hub for undergraduates temporarily dislocated by House renewal projects. (Renewal of the House system is among FAS’s principal capital-campaign priorities.)

Smith also confirmed that during the 2015-2016 academic year, planners will conduct a strategic assessment of the first three House renewal projects: Quincy's Stone Hall, just completed; Leverett’s McKinlock Hall, now undergoing construction; and Dunster, where interior work will begin next summer. (Dunster is the first entire House to be redone; during the summer just past, exterior work was undertaken on the roof, chimneys, and windows.) According to the news announcement, the strategic assessment will document “the lessons learned in design, construction, financing, and programming from the first three test projects.…assessment activities will include surveys of students living in the three completed projects, audit energy use, confirm life cycle and operating cost analyses, evaluate engineering strategies, and identify and evaluate strategic procurement opportunities.”

“We learned a great deal” from the work on Stone Hall, Smith said in the announcement. “We are already learning more from the second test project, Leverett McKinlock, the first facility that includes a dining hall, social spaces, and a master's residence. We are applying these lessons as we tackle the first full House, Dunster.” One lesson already learned is that “preparations for the renewal of a full House [are] better done over four years, not three. We’ll be using that timing with Winthrop House.”

The Winthrop renovation will follow guidelines informed by the recommendations of the House Program Planning Committee—a group of House Masters, faculty members, administrators, and undergraduates who from 2008 to 2009 examined the mission and purpose of the undergraduate Houses.

The renewal of Harvard’s Houses comes at a time of increased interest in online education (sometimes viewed as a threat to residential colleges), and represents a clear commitment to campus life as a key component of the undergraduate experience, as described in a feature article in the November-December issue of Harvard Magazine

You might also like

Trump Administration Alleges Harvard Violated Student Civil Rights

In a court filing, the University says government has ignored procedure to “inflict pain.”

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. 

The Professor Who Quantified Democracy

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

In Federal Court, Harvard and the Government Have Friends

A look at the amicus curiae briefs in Harvard’s funding case

Explore More From Current Issue

Julia Rooney’s Cyanotype Art At Harvard

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

Harvard Commencement 2025

Harvard passes a test of its values, yet challenges loom.

Harvard Summer Reading Picks | 2025

The wealth gap, shamanism, the life of David Nathan, and more