Client: HARVARD UNIVERSITY
LOCATION: CAMBRIDGE, MA
Scope: NEW CONSTRUCTION
STATUS: BUILT
PHOTOS: PAUL WARCHOL
AWARDS: 2009 The Chicago Athenaeum Arch. Design Award, 2008 Boston Society of Architects Honor AwarD, 2008 AIA New York Bldg Award for Sustainable Design, 2007 AIA New England Award, 2007 LEED Gold Certification, USGBC

HARVARD LIBRARY SERVICES BUILDING

The Harvard University Library Services (HULS) building in Cambridge, Massachusetts is located in the heart of Harvard Square.  It is home to Harvard’s Weissman Preservation Center and administrative offices for the 90-plus libraries that compose Harvard’s library system. 

With four stories above ground and two stories below ground, the building’s exposed concrete structure maximizes floor to ceiling heights and minimizes the scale of the building on the site. Each floor is organized with open and flexible work spaces grouped at the north side of the core. This takes advantage of the abundant natural illumination from the North facing curtain wall. The top floor’s conservation laboratory is a state-of-the-art facility for the preservation of rare books, manuscripts, maps, and other valuable works. Along the sidewalk, retail space enlivens the pedestrian experience.

This was the first new building on the Harvard campus to attain LEED Gold and was used as a prototype for the Office of Sustainability. By incorporating geothermal heating and cooling, local and recycled materials, lighting controls, low flow plumbing fixtures and the maximum use of natural daylight this designation was attained.

With Leers Weinzapfel Associates