Additionally, according to Kieran, renovated buildings will be fully handicap accessible. Though some are concerned that this will eliminate the traditional vertical entryway structure characteristic to Harvard—since it would be impractical to install an elevator in every single vertical entryway—this isn’t necessarily the case. Stone Hall’s renovations succeeded in installing elevators while maintaining vertical entryways by connecting the entryways horizontally.

According to Gehrke, the Quincy renewal has brought other small changes to enhance student life as well, such as an increased number of electrical outlets, enhanced environmental efficiency (such as rainwater usage for flushing toilets), built-in cubbies in bathrooms, and newer furniture, among others. “I’m so upset that I’ll never live in Winthrop when it’s renovated,” Ehrlich says.

Despite some recent criticism from undergraduates regarding hallway bathrooms and common rooms, Gehrke says that reactions from Quincy alums have been overall positive. “They said they graduated too soon,” she says.

STUDENTS IN THE RENEWAL PROCESS

Administrators and House masters have been keen on giving students a voice in the renewal process. For Winthrop, the next House to undergo renewal, this meant forming a student committee that met with the House masters and architects to voice thoughts and opinions about the upcoming renovation process. “These are monumental projects,” Robinson says. “If students are the ones living in these places, they have the best sense of what works and what doesn’t work.”

The meetings occurred last semester, with plans to continue the conversation this semester. “[The architects] changed some of their blueprints based on feedback from some of the students,” Ehrlich says. “That was a huge relief because I know some people were hesitant. But they listened and were so excited and willing to take into consideration students’ opinions.” More than 25 students were on the committee and partook in the town hall-style meetings.

In addition to students and the House masters, two tutors participated in the meetings and helped facilitate discussion. “Those meetings are trying to get everyone on the same page and negotiate out what is going to happen at the end of the day when construction begins,” says Richardson, who was involved in the student committee as a tutor. “Architects learned a lot of things about students and houses and how houses can best serve them.” Leverett House had a similar format to engage students. According to House Co-Master Howard M. Georgi ’68, architects had a series of focus groups with students. Additionally, Georgi invited and hosted the architects at several House events so that they could get a better feel for Leverett life.

RENEWING THE ‘HARVARD FEEL’

The “old Harvard feel,” though intangible, is often associated with the grandiose feeling of being on Harvard’s campus—the physicalities of its historical architecture. But with renovations underway, the idea of this traditional “Harvard feel” is also being reconstructed and renewed. “If you had to stereotype a Harvard feel, it might be the molding, fireplaces, wood paneling. Is that Harvard? Or is it social spaces where kids hang out…is that Harvard?” Gehrke asks. “I’m not sure I know what the typical stereotype is anymore with the House renewal.”

While Harvard and its team of architects plan to maintain the traditional Harvard aesthetic that has long given students and alums an unmistakable residential experience, updates and modernizations are certain to create several modifications. But perhaps these modifications are appropriately renovating the concept of the grandiose “old Harvard feel.” “[Winthrop] is 103 years old and originally freshman dorms, so it’s time to update it a little bit. I love the House and it feels so homey, but I think with Winthrop East it’ll still retain that feeling,” Ehrlich says. “It’s going to be a little different. It should be different; it’s 103 years later. It’s time to see something a little different.

—Staff writer Annie E. Schugart can be reached at annie.schugart@thecrimson.com.