Ed School Library to Receive Architectural Excellence Medal

The designers of the Munroe C. Gutman Library of the Graduate School of Education will receive an award from the Boston Society of Architects for the "most beautiful piece of architecture" in the metropolitan Boston area.

The City of Boston will present the annual Harleston Parker medal to Benjamin Thompson & Associates at the architectural society's annual dinner in May.

Fourth to Win

The Gutman Library is the fourth Harvard building to receive the honor; Carpenter Center (1964), Peabody Terrace (1966) and Holyoke Center (1967) were previous winners. A committee of architects chose the library over twenty competitors.

The committee called the building an "outstanding example of a disciplined approach to architecture." It particularly praised the "brightly colored interiors" of the library, which reflect the "liveliness of Brattle Street and reinforce the immediate urban pattern." The committee concluded that the building "fulfills its interior functions and its exterior responsibilities."

Benjamin Thompson, who is receiving his third Parker medal, said he is very pleased by the award. He said that his intention in designing the $3.4 million library was for it to be "functional but in the scale of the street, particularly the surrounding residential area."

Paul Perry, librarian of the Faculty of Education, said he was "delighted" with both the library and the award.