Harvard University: Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center

Harvard University 

PHOTOS © NICK LEHOUX, MIDDLE PHOTO: © JANIE AIREY

Despite being one of the most highly recognized university campuses in the world, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, did not have a centralized campus center. Consigli Construction Co., Inc. led the reconstruction, renovation, and restoration of the former Holyoke Center, originally built in the 1960s, into a modern and functional building renamed the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center.

The project creates a new and welcoming “front door” for the university, transforms the building into a campus center for Harvard, and includes an extensive restoration of the original Brutaliststyle façades. The project also reflects the university’s commitment to sustainability, containing eight 20-foot-high living “green walls” with more than 12,000 plants that are irrigated by UV-filtered water from the building’s rooftop to help improve the building’s air quality. The complex project required careful planning and management as the building had to remain open and fully operational to the 500+ occupants and 10,000 daily pedestrians on the adjacent streets during the entire project.

Key areas of the project also included: The Moise Y. Safra Welcome Pavilion, which required the outfitting of a signature “front door,” a two-story glass and steel enclosure; Harvard Commons, a large gathering space for all that features an open-air glazed vitrine garden accented by birch trees and evergreens; Dunster Pavilion, containing restaurant uses below a structurally reinforced roof garden; and a below-grade parking garage.

After 36 months, the removal of 975 tons of demolition debris, and the reconstruction and renovation of six key building areas, the building now offers an array of dedicated gathering spaces, and was dubbed “a crossroads for the entire community” by the Harvard Gazette.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management October 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • i-PRO, NovoTrax Partner for New School Emergency Response Solution

    i-PRO Americas, Inc., which manufactures edge computing cameras, recently announced a partnership with NovoTrax, provider of end-to-end life safety and mass notification solutions, to address gaps in emergency response workflows at K–12 schools, according to a news release.

  • K–12 Safety Trends Report Reveals Reliance on Training, Technology

    Wearable safety technology provider CENTEGIX recently released its 2025 School Safety Trends Report, according to a news release. The report is based on more than 265,000 incidents during the 2024–25 school year as reported through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, used by more than 800 school districts across the U.S.

  • Elevating Campus Maintenance: How Power Wash Drones are Transforming Educational Facilities

    As today’s campuses grow larger and more architecturally complex, keeping exteriors clean, safe, and inviting has never been tougher. Facilities leaders are under constant pressure to stretch budgets, meet safety standards, and support sustainability goals—all while tackling the stubborn challenge of exterior cleaning.

  • University of Southern Mississippi Starts Construction on Oyster Hatchery

    The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) recently announced that construction has begun on a new oyster hatchery at its Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center (TCMAC) Cedar Point campus in Ocean Springs, Miss., according to a news release.

Digital Edition