What's Wrong With the Q-Rac?

With the way things look at the Quad Recreational Athletic Center (Q-Rac) these days, it's easy to see why officials are telling Quad residents to take a hike if they want to work up a sweat.

Buckled floors in the squash courts hundreds of bubbles on the epoxy-coated floor of the exercise area and rusted beams in one equipment room are only the most visible of the problems that last week forced Radcliffe officials to close the $2.4 million athletic center built three years ago.

What's not so clear is the cause of the difficulties, which first showed up over a year ago and which continue to worsen as consultants test for a solution. President Horner is now awaiting the results of the tests before deciding whether to open portions of the gym--such as the main court area--that are still in playing condition.

Until the report is completed--"within the next several weeks." Horner says--disappointed Quad residents must search for alternatives to the convenient facility, which houses the only two racquetball courts at Harvard, as well as four squash courts, weightlifting equipment, and a 14,000-sq-ft. multipurpose floor, adaptable to tennis, volleyball and basketball.

As most people familiar with the history of the Q-Rac will readily admit, problems at the modern building--which could easily be mistaken for a chic health and racquet club--are nothing new. In fact, officials say, some problems were expected, including cracks in the interior concrete walls that are common in all new buildings during the first few years of "settling."

What disturbs Radcliffe is not these "normal" difficulties, but rather, a series of water seepage problems that are reportedly uncommon in any structure, let alone one that opened just three years ago. The main question confronting Radcliffe was--and still is--how the damaging moisture gets into the building.

When the first hints of water leaks surfaced last year, engineers thought they might be a result of the Q-Rac's partially underground construction. Three sides of the building are inset some 40 feet below the surface, and consultants originally thought the building's foundation might lie below the water table level.

But, Horner said last week, a preliminary geophysical survey concluded that the Q-Rac's problems "are not related to the water table of Cambridge," and that the decision to place the building below ground--which itself was forced by community opposition to any a large buildings in the area--was not the cause of the problems. Instead, the survey reported, the water that somehow leaked into the building was surface moisture accumulated from rain and snow.

As the problems in the gym grew worse--the squash court's wood floors darkening and rotting as a result of moisture--the original contractors assured Radcliffe, which owns the building, that the problems were not serious.

Radcliffe authorized patch-work repairs on the building, but didn't confront the question that is only now--more than a year after problems were first noticed--being asked: Is the damage a result of a fundamental flaw in design, construction, or building materials?

No one is willing to take--or place--the blame for the problems before the completion of the report by Thompson and Lichtner Co., the Boston consulting firm hired by Radcliffe last spring. But Horner insisted last week that "nobody has been remiss in judgment" regarding the leakage problems.

An executive of the Jackson Construction Co., which built the Q-Rac, last week denied any possible negligence. Joseph Hoskins, a renowned architect who designed and supervised the project, has repeatedly refused to comment.

So far all the parties involved with building the Q-Rac--including Hoskins--have cooperated fully with the consultants, Horner said.

But several University officials have said that a lawsuit may be required once the report is released and liability is determined.

Regardless of who may be at fault, however, a tour of the closed gym reveals a potentially costly repair job, which Horner says she will demand so that the gym be restored to its previous condition.

In the squash and racquetball courts, several of the wooden floorboards have been uprooted and broken by the moisture.

The water has also accumulated under areas of the floor to create contrasts in sound and resiliance as one walks across the surface.

In the exercise room, which is covered by a "seamless epoxy floor"--one of the hardest available--water has caused hundreds of bubbles, ranging in size up to three inches in diameter and a quarterinch high. One of the less logical aspects of the damage--and there are many, according to John Lach, director of Radcliffe's facilities--is that the bathrooms and showers, just a few feet along the same floor, show no bubbles.

While everyone waits for the word on what's wrong, masters at Currier, North and South Houses are considering a variety of alternatives to compensate for the loss of the Q-Rac. Several pieces of exercise equipment are being moved to Currier, and officials are consulting on the possible addition of extra shuttle bus service from the Quad to the Square.