Professors Reply to Alumni Blasts At New Modernistic G.E. Building

"Harvard is capable of digesting almost anything," commented John H. Finley, Jr. '25, Eliot Professor of Greek Literature, last night in discussing the now, modernistic General Education building soon to be built.

Alumni reaction to the Allston Burr Lecture Hall, however, seems to indicate that many feel the architects have gone too far and that the building "will remain as a blot on Harvard for all time." such terms as "inhuman pile," "false," "unsightly," and "incongruous" have been used by indignant graduates in describing the building.

Support Burr Hall

In reply, almost all the professors, who are likely to use the building, yesterday gave Burr Hall their complete support.

Answering charges that "this inhuman pile ill stand there to mar the environment for some hundreds of years," the faculty expressed confidence that the new building will fit in with the Georgian architecture.

Phillippe E. Le Corbeiller, professor of General Education, said, "This question of fitting to style is a joke. Lamont has blended perfectly. In fact, one of the best things about Harvard is its variety Each age has its own style. This is ours, and we should use it."

A group of alumni, in a recent letter to the Alumni Bulletin, expressed the opinion that "a building, not too large, in mellow Georgian brick would be a (more) fitting memorial."

C. Crane Brinton '19, McLean Professor of ancient and Modern History, fails to agree with this suggestion. "There's nothing sacred about Georgian Style. I approve thoroughly of the new modernistic building and like the idea of using the architecture of our own age."

What About Fire Station?

According to Leonard K. Nash '39, assistant professor of Chemistry, "The new building is going to be tough on the fire department." Several years ago, the City of Cambridge went to a great deal of trouble to erect a new fire station in Georgian style north of the Yard so that "it would blend in with the other buildings." Modernistic Burr Hall will be just across the street.

The alumni, criticizing everybody in sight, have even attacked Walter Gropius, the designer of the Graduate Center, who had nothing to do with the new building.

"How grateful we can be that Gropius was not around when they were building the Houses along the river a generation ago," wrote one alumnus.

"Degradation of Architecture"

A graduate of the Class of '81 exclaims how sad it is "that a firm which once included that great artist, George Shepley, is now associated with and responsible for this degradation of architecture."

The alumnus is referring to the actual designers of the new building--the firm of Coolidge, Shepley, Bulfinch, and Abbott. This firm has planned much of modern Harvard including Sever Hall, all the Houses, Littauer, the Indoor Athletic Building, Fogg Museum, and the Biological Labs.

Allston Burr '89, for whom the new General Education building was named, was chairman of the committee which aided the construction of Memorial Church. This prompted one graduate to say that the very fact that Burr helped in the building of the chapel shows clearly how he would have opposed the new hall.

Conant Avoids Issue

President Conant has remained aloof from all argument about modern architecture, although the Corporation on which he serves gave its approval to the plans.

At the dedication of the Graduate Center last October, Conant said "I will not discuss the aesthetic judgment of the Corporation." In December, however, he put the Harkness Commons on his Christmas cards. Speculation has begun over whether the Burr Lecture Hall will be on his next year's cards.

One member of the faculty felt that the outside appearance of the new building was only of secondary importance. "I am much more concerned with the interior of the new building than the exterior," stated I. Bernard Cohen '37, assistant professor of General Education. "The new building is much better suited to teaching and the needs of the students and is a necessity," he went on.

The four Natural Science professors are particularly in favor of the new building and stand to profit the most from it. The Burr Lecture Hall is designed particularly for "dramatic demonstration of laboratory experiments before classroom groups."

Sound-Proof Curtain

Two large lecture rooms and four conference rooms are all equipped for laboratory demonstrations. Between experiments, in the large lecture halls a sound-proof curtain can be drawn around the demonstration table.

Since the building was built "to implement the program in General Education with a particular emphasis on science courses," these Natural Science professors were in constant contact with the University authorities and the architects and had a great deal to say in the plans for the building.

However, several of the other General Education instructors stated that they were not at all acquainted with the new hall.

Also coming in for some criticism is the new Gordon McKay Applied Science Laboratory which is in modern design but is not as radically modern as Burr Hall.