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The Gordon McKay Laboratory at Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences is getting a significant facade renovation to its east side, expected to be complete by early fall.

The renovation, which began in March, will include new insulated windows, a repair of the building’s wood window frames, and the insulation of steel reinforcements to “maintain structural strength,” according to SEAS spokesperson Leah Burrows.

The five-story laboratory is located next to the Science Center at 9 Oxford St. The renovations will upgrade its street-facing side.

This work follows similar renovations completed in 2015 on the building’s western facade, which faces the Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering courtyard.

The McKay Laboratory, originally completed in 1953 and designed by Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson, and Abbott, houses laboratories, faculty offices, and graduate student spaces. It primarily serves the Applied Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Material Sciences departments.

“Project planners have been communicating with the faculty since October 2024 about the project and held a town hall for all occupants December 2024,” Burrows wrote.

Laboratory researchers say they have experienced minimal disruptions because of the construction. David Castro, a lab manager in an optics lab on the first floor, said “we receive weekly an update of what is gonna happen in the next weeks.”

“Starting next week, they’re gonna actually start with the renovation in our lab,” Castro said. “They sent us a very nice plan about what’s gonna happen when with the exact days to minimize overlap with experiments and everything.

“They were very nice and accommodating,” he added.

Castro also said his lab equipment would be covered with plastic while construction is underway. “Our setups are fine,” he said.

Pawan Ratra, also a graduate student who works in the building, said most of the work so far has happened on the outside of the building

“It was just hammering and drilling super loud,” Ratra said. “It’s happening during office hours. It’s kind of hard.”

Burrows wrote in a statement that “limited work will be done at the interior, and labs are expected to continue with their research operations.”

The McKay Laboratory has undergone several other renovations in recent years, including the 2010 update to the Vlassak Laboratory and the 2011 renovation of the Stubbs Laboratory, both achieving LEED certification with significant sustainability improvements.

—Staff writer Bianca G. Ciubancan can be reached at bianca.ciubancan@thecrimson.com.

—Staff writer Mohan A. Hathi can be reached at mohan.hathi@thecrimson.com.