We want to preserve the historic character and the culture of our Houses, while renewing the House life experience as part of a 21st-century approach to liberal arts education.” –Michael D. Smith, Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University, and John H. Finley, Jr., Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Dunster house is one of seven student halls known as the River Houses at Harvard, housing upperclassmen in a community setting that fosters intellectual and practical growth. Funded by Edward Stephen Harkness, construction of Dunster House was completed in 1930 and was one of the first of the River Houses to be built.
Dunster House is of the Colonial Revival style so popular in the early twentieth century, particularly in New England. The Georgian-inspired steel framed masonry structure’s characteristic clock tower is inspired by the Tom Tower of Christ Church, Oxford. The footprint is a staggered-wing construction and reaches 6-stories at its highest. Dunster House is part of the Harvard Houses Historic District, a National Register Historic District, added in 1986.
Initiated in 2012, Harvard launched their monumental House Renewal campaign, one of the largest capital projects at Harvard to date. The House Renewal Campaign aims to update and modernize the Houses while restoring and preserving their historic characteristics.
M&A’s involvement in the Dunster House renewal project involved exterior renovation to the clock tower, replacement of monumental window sash, exterior door restoration, and traditional space restoration. Due to Harvard’s preservation-minded approach to the restoration of Dunster House, much of M&A’s work involved removing, storing or modifying, and reinstalling existing wainscoting, chair rails, built-ins, columns and pediments, and even the clock faces at the tower themselves.
Years of student use had left the traditional spaces worn, and while the design intent was to preserve the existing look and feel of Dunster’s historic spaces, careful wood restoration was required to ensure the historic fabric could survive another hundred years of use.
Due to unknown existing conditions, it was necessary for M&A to remove all paneling and wall planking in the Dining Hall to expose the terra cotta walls underneath for abatement and update to infrastructure. M&A’s preservation carpenters carefully dismantled and labeled the entire Dining Hall, piece by piece, for storage in a climate-controlled facility. The Dining Hall was reassembled and refinished, and left the room looking refreshed, as if it hadn’t been touched since opening in 1930.
The renewal of Dunster House was completed in August 2015 and re-opened to students later that same month. The well-received project has set the stage for future involvement for M&A in upcoming House Renewal projects.
