Building is Being Constructed on Divinity Avenue Near Museum

As a result of the generous gifts of the General Education Board of Boston and of donations by friends of the University, construction work on Harvard's huge new biological laboratory has been progressing steadily since ground was first broken on October 18 of last year. All of the concrete-work has been completed and the masonry has been built up to the fourth floor, leaving only the final story to be added before the outer shell is finished and interior construction may begin.

The new building, located on Divinity Avenue between the Farlow Herbarium and the Semitic Museum, is in the shape of an open C, the three wings forming a quadrangle to balance that of the University Museum opposite. The north wing, facing the Herbarium, is some 144 feet in length; the middle wing, at right angles to it, is approximately 250 feet long; and the south wing, adjoining the Semitic Museum, approaches the 300-foot mark, so that the total distance around the structure measures almost 700 feet.

The architecture, in keeping with the surrounding Harvard Buildings, is modernized Georgian in style. One of the most notable features of the building at this stage of construction is the large number of spacious windows. Made of white-steel casement, this type of fenestration will insure an adequate supply of air and sunlight. Continuous ventilation in the new structure will also be made possible by an elaborate system of ducts operated on soundproof platforms on the top story.

Designed primarily for research, the new laboratory will fulfill a need for which the facilities of the University Museum were totally inadequate. Only one large auditorium will be included, most of the structure being set aside to provide the most complete and comprehensive facilities obtainable for modern biological research. Sound-proof rooms, photographic studios, dark rooms, special laboratories, rooms so devised that any constant temperature may be maintained, and scientifically arranged quarters for research in each of the four departments of the Division of Biology (botany, physiology, zoology, and the Bussey Institution); will be contained in the new structure. Lecture and seminar room, in addition to the auditorium, will be conveniently situated on all floors. A large greenhouse is to be placed on the roof, with accomodations