Soc Rel Dept. Must Pick Behavioral Science Area

The area on Massachusetts Avenue between Dunster and Holyoke Streets is being considered as the site for the projected Behavioral Sciences Building, Robert W. White, chairman of the Social Relations Department, has disclosed.

The construction of a ten-story building on this site, to include the new Harvard-Radcliffe Medical Center, was announced in 1957. The building is being done in two stages and use of the half block area facing Harvard Square has not yet been assigned.

Members of the Social Relations Department will meet, probably in the next two weeks, to consider preliminary drawings and to determine whether facilities in the building are adequate for use as a Behavioral Sciences Center.

Should this location be rejected, the Behavioral Sciences Building will almost definitely be located on Kirkland Street, between Divinity Avenue and Kirkland Place. This site is currently occupied by Randall Hall, which houses the Harvard Press. Randall Hall is likely to be razed within a few years.

Will Cost Over $2 Million

Whichever of the two sites is finally selected, the proposed Behavioral Sciences Building, housing both the Social Relations and Psychology Departments, will have a floor area of approximately 100,000 square feet. Depending on the degree to which specialized facilities are installed, the estimated cost is between $2 million and $2.5 million.

"Last spring we were fairly certain of deciding on the Kirkland Street location," White said, "but this fall the location on Massachusetts Avenue was suggested." He pointed out that, with construction already announced, the University is "committed" to its building project in the Square, while a wholly new building on the Kirkland site might meet complications if the Program for Harvard College falls short.