One Cambridge resident, Donald Fleming, gave a visual presentation of what he thought were examples of non-contextual architecture around the world, placing the 90 Mt. Auburn Street building in the continuum. This caught some audience members off guard.

"Procedurally speaking, it was odd that at a hearing the commission would allow a public comment to consist of a slide show," McCready says. "It was really strange."

Another Cambridge resident, Peter Roudebush, said that he thought the building would just become another chain store haven.

"Harvard is killing off the diversity and character of Harvard Square," he said in an interview.

Harvard officials who have been working on the project said they had not yet recovered from the Commission's vote and were unsure what the next step would be. They said the Commission's written findings-due out in the next month-might provide direction for the project.

But Levitan said that the message regarding the current façade was pretty clear, and that future plans for the building would have to be radically different.

"I don't think we need to see it in writing," he said, adding that HPRE is optimistic that it will be able to erect a new building on the site because most members did not seem to be opposed to granting a demolition permit for the current wooden structure.

Levitan said he does not feel that Harvard should have given the architect more guidance in creating a building that would be acceptable to the Commission.