Renovations Might Require New Dorm

The College said yesterday that it would need to build a provisional dorm to house displaced undergraduates if it decides to undertake extensive long-term renovations that would gut the interiors of the Houses.

College administrators will determine the extent of the restorations this summer, basing their decision partly on comprehensive data collected earlier this year by the Space Assessment Committee, which details all residential space use.

“This whole summer is dedicated to deciding is it going to be a 10-, 30- or 50-year renovation,” Associate Dean for Residential Life Suzy M Nelson said after a meeting of the Committee on House Life yesterday.

The Committee includes Harvard administrators, House masters, and students.

The 50-year renovations, which would revamp house interiors to make better use of the existing space over the next 50 years is the only option that would necessitate a new dorm.

Associate Dean of Harvard College Judith H. Kidd called for those involved in the Allston campus planning process to consider incorporating this type of space into their design.

The shorter-term renovations would address systems-related issues, such as roofs, fire safety, alarms, piping, heating, and water.

The plans outlined for the 30-year renovation would change room configurations, partially in an attempt to decrease the number of walkthrough living situations.

The committee’s discussion was inspired by the model Yale has used to renovate its residential colleges, in which students from one college each year relocate to a designated “swing space” while their aging rooms are overhauled.

Yale’s renovations have resulted in increased cost efficiency of their housing space, but these gains have not been enough to offset the price tag of the project, according to Harvard Associate Director of Residential Operations Zachary Gingo.

Administrators said that an additional benefit of the renovations would be more environmentally friendly houses.

Gingo suggested yesterday that loans from environmental organizations could defray some of the costs of the improvements.

But Nelson said in the interview after the meeting that the effects of the proposed renovations would be short-lived.

“It’s amazing to me that even if we do the whole thing, the whole gut renovation, it’s a 50- to 75-year life span. You don’t gain a lot,” Nelson said after the meeting.

“It’s a lot of planning and decision-making but it’s something that doesn’t give you 200 years.”

—Staff writer Victoria B. Kabak can be reached at vkabak@fas.harvard.edu.