Revised Hilles Plans Revealed

Students got a glance at the most recent Hilles renovation designs and voiced their ideas about space allocation at a workshop with college administrators and building architects yesterday afternoon.

With over 70 student group representatives in attendance, the meeting in Emerson 105 provided an opportunity for the subcommittee of the Committee of College Life to solicit student feedback. This information will be used to form criteria for selecting which groups receive space as well as to generate an application to be available by Jan. 31.

The renovated building is scheduled to open in the fall, and construction is set to begin this spring.

The new space will include up to 68 dedicated group offices, multiple conference rooms, and shared open space on the first and second floors, according to a presentation made by the architects. The fourth floor will feature a cafe with space for performers as well as a public kitchen facility.

Renovations will also be made to the building courtyard with the construction of a wooden deck for outdoor activities and performances, equipped with stage lighting and space for surrounding seating.

“We are really trying to shape and improve the culture of student organizations through this project as much as we’re trying to renovate the existing building,” said Sheila Kennedy of Kennedy and Violich Architecture, Ltd.

The new student center space will be accessible to all undergraduates 24 hours a day, but the first floor library will retain its regular schedule.

The area to be renovated, approximately 40,000 square feet, is the largest amount of space the College was able to obtain to use for student center space prior to the Allston construction, Assistant Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin said. He added that the subcommittee will not be releasing the total cost of the project.

The renovated area, according to Kennedy, will be equipped with wireless internet service and various work stations that will allow for teleconferencing and phone banking. Once completed, the space will provide a “fresh opportunity to allow for more information [technology] infrastructure than was allowed in the current basement space,” Kennedy said.

In addition to the architectural changes, the shuttle service system will also undergo changes due to increased demand for transportation.

McLoughlin, who moderated the workshop, said that he will continue to meet with members from Harvard Transportation Services to discuss the implementation of additional shuttle routes, new stops, and more frequent service to and from the Quad.

He also raised the possibility installing a Global Positioning System (GPS) device on the shuttles, modeled after MIT’s transportation service, to allow students to access information online regarding their precise locations in order to reduce waiting time.

Though only a limited number of groups will receive private offices, other student organizations will be granted individual storage space as well as free use of the collaborative zones McLoughlin said.

Though the subcommittee, with approval from Dean of the College Dean Benedict H. Gross ’71, will decide which groups are to receive space this fall, McLoughlin announced that the administration will hire a director to oversee the allocation and reservation of working space in the future as well as to manage building logistics.

“They definitely care a lot about individual group needs and student concerns,” said Julie Goswami ’08, historian of the South Asian Association. She said the workshop made her more confident about the future of access to student group space.

During the second half of the meeting, student organization representatives were divided into six groups, splitting up to discuss ideas for selection criteria and entertain questions.

Subcommittee members, who moderated the group discussions, will convene today to review information collected from the workshop to start generating an application for office space.

According to McLoughlin, the subcommittee will meet again with approximately 30 student groups who currently have offices in the Yard to discuss the time line for vacating in light of the concurrent renovations in both Hilles and the Yard basements.

—Staff writer Ying Wang can be reached at yingwang@fas.harvard.edu.