Upgrading Harvard

The Harvard University community now has access to a state-of-the-art library facility within the familiar confines of the Widener Library, the result of a comprehensive renovation and restoration designed by the Boston office of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture & Engineering, PC (EYPAE). The eight-year project included the modernization of the library’s extensive stack system, the installation of new building systems, the creation of much-needed new spaces within the existing footprint and the restoration of the building’s historical character.

For nine decades, the 320,000-sq.ft. Beaux Arts brick building, distinguished by the 12 Corinthian columns and expansive granite steps at its entrance, has been a landmark on Harvard’s Cambridge, MA, campus. In 1912, Eleanor Elkins Widener gave $2 million to the university for the construction of a library in memory of her son, a Harvard graduate and book collector who had perished aboard the Titanic. For its design, Widener chose Horace Trumbauer & Associates of Philadelphia, PA, also known for the designs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Gothically styled campus of Duke University. Thus was born the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, which has been the intellectual center of the university since its completion in 1915.

Home to approximately 3.25 million of the Harvard system’s approximately 14-million volumes, the Widener Library has been the source of both academic discovery and untold frustration for those who have navigated its seemingly endless stacks through the years. The 10-level self-supporting iron and steel stack structure encompasses 185,000-gsf and contains 57 miles of bookshelves. Prior to this project, it had remained virtually unchanged since its construction.

Harvard and EYPAE began the process of modernizing the library with a feasibility study undertaken in 1996. The Boston-based Lee Kennedy Company executed the two-phase renovation and restoration that followed.

“The university had several goals, and these evolved as we studied the building,” explains Cahal Stephens, AIA, Principal-in-Charge, EYPAE. “The primary goal was the renovation of the book stacks for the long-term preservation of the collection, which includes a lot of important and valuable books. The secondary goal was to upgrade the building to meet accessibility and egress standards. The third was the restoration of the building, while the fourth was the reorganization of the building’s work areas.

“The goal that evolved was the creation of more space. We discovered the opportunity to create more reading space by putting a skylight over open light wells on either side of the building. Each reading room is about 2,500 sq.ft.. It turned out to be very valuable, because new space is hard to come by at the heart of Harvard Yard.”

Phase one of the project focused on modernizing the stack area. Because it could not be reconfigured without dismantling the entire building, updating the book stacks required the careful integration of climate control, electrical and safety systems without altering the stack layout.

“The book stack’s design is typical of the information storage systems of the early-20th century – cast iron with a dense structure and low headroom,” says Stephens. “This was a system patented by Snead Iron Works, and was very common in libraries built during the period, including the New York Public Library. It was very efficient for storing large numbers of books, but the passageways are very narrow and the elevators were tiny – certainly not up to modern code.”

To provide for the long-term preservation of the collection, systems to regulate temperature, humidity, air quality and UV light were installed.

“The university was concerned with the deterioration of books over long periods of time,” says Stephens. “We designed a system that improved the environmental conditions by limiting temperature and humidity fluctuations.”

Supply air risers were run through the stacks every fourth row – resulting in a loss of only 4% of book storage space, while the return ducts were run down existing shafts that originally contained undersized elevators. Modern lighting, power and data systems replaced old electrical systems. Fire, smoke-detection and suppression systems were also installed.

The fire-detection system, known as the aspiration system, was designed by Firepro, Inc., of Andover, MA. “It’s basically comprised of very small pipes that take samples of air at frequent intervals and give off an alarm if something is detected,” says Stephens. “It is an advance over conventional smoke-detection systems – resulting in fewer false alarms and quicker response.

“We also put in a sprinkler system,” Stephens continues. “There was some concern about getting the books wet, but the librarians insisted that wet books are better than ashes. They actually have a way of reclaiming wet books – by freezing them and removing the ice.”

The renovation of the stack area also included the redesign of the study carrels, numbering several hundred, and supplying them with power and data lines.

The four-year second phase of the project dealt with restoring the building’s historical character. Photographs, historic descriptions and material investigations were used to re-discover the building’s 1915 appearance. Wherever possible, existing features and finishes were preserved, based on analyses by Building Conservation Associates.

Andrea Gilmore is the Regional Director of BCA’s Boston office. “We did research to identify paint colors, cleaning tests and analysis of materials such as the travertine marble in the Loker Reading Room,” she says. “The paint research involved removing paint samples and identifying the different layers, while the cleaning tests involved testing a variety of cleaning materials, starting with the least invasive. The travertine in the reading room was cleaned and in some areas re-coated. It has that shadowing, so it doesn’t look new, but revitalized.”

Extending the length of the north side of the second floor, the Loker Reading Room serves as the library’s primary study area. “This area was in fairly good condition, but it did not have air conditioning and the laylights in the ceiling had been removed,” says Stephens. “Using original photographs as our guide, we designed replacement decorative laylights. All of the woodwork was stripped and refinished, all of the oak tables were refinished and retrofitted with power, data lines and brass table lamps to match the originals. The original cork floor was replaced with matching cork and soft furniture was also added in the areas at either end for a variety of seating options.”

Other areas of focus included the main entry on the first floor and the Widener Memorial Reading Room and rotunda on the second floor. “The Widener Reading Room houses the personal collection of Harry Elkins Widener. This space was restored by cleaning the woodwork and correcting deficiencies in the plaster. The work in the rotunda, which is used for receptions, involved cleaning the marble.”

Because a stipulation of Widener’s donation – that the footprint of the library never be changed – conflicted with the university’s need for more space, EYPAE came up with an innovative way to create additional space within the envelope of the building.

Two large light wells at the center of the building were covered with glass skylights. Below, the resulting infill space now includes new mechanical rooms on the lower level, a new elevator and stairway circulation core, new microform storage and serial records’ rooms on the first floor and two new reading rooms on the second floor.

“The new reading rooms are designed to express what they are – modern spaces inserted into an historic building,” says Stephens. “You can still see the existing brick of the original building, but we added wood at the lower level to create more of a library-like atmosphere.

“One concern the librarians had was glare in these new reading rooms, so we did a sun study with the lighting consultant, Lam Partners.” Using a physical scale model atop a heliodon table on the roof of its Cambridge headquarters, Lam Partners analyzed how seasonal sunlight variations would affect the new reading rooms.

“There were two main concerns,” explains Robert Osten, principal-in-charge, Lam Partners. “One issue was to control direct sunlight and the other was a conservation issue – it was really important to keep direct sunlight off the books.”

Based on their analysis, translucent and clear-glass skylights were used in a pattern that allows views of the sky while avoiding direct sunlight on reading surfaces. “We tested different glazing systems, and used a micro-prismatic diffusing glass that diffused direct sunlight in some of the panels,” says Osten. “Our testing determined which panels need the diffusion and which could be left clear to allow light in.”

“The result is that you feel a connection with the outside,” says Stephens, “but avoid glare. This was a very important aspect of the project, and it worked out well.”

Because library operations could not be suspended during the renovation and restoration, all of the work was done while the building was occupied. The ten levels of stacks were updated in 20 phases, with the books being moved to allow for the work, cleaned and then replaced. According to Stephens, this worked out well because a great relationship was developed between the construction company and the librarians.

This level of cooperation, coupled with the vision of both the university and Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, resulted in a cutting-edge library in a 90-year-old Harvard landmark. – Will Holloway