Renovations, Construction at Quad

A large-scale construction and renovation project begun last summer at the Harvard Medical School is progressing on schedule, according to school officials.

"It's proceeding on schedule and under budget, and I'm very pleased," said Dean of the Medical School Daniel C. Tosteson '44 in an recent interview.

The multi-million dollar construction project includes several facets of the schools, which is arranged around a quadrangle. The East Quadrangle Research Facility (EQRF) will be a new building, housing the laboratories of several departments. Also, a 500-car garage is being built underneath the Quadrangle lawn. Some of the older Quadrangle buildings are also being renovated.

Occupancy of the EQRF, which will be completed at a cost of $60 million, is currently planned for August 1992, says Robert Saltonstall Jr., associate dean for facilities and administration services.

The EQRF, a 200,000 square foot building, will provide space for the Departments of Genetics, Neurobiology, Anatomy and Cellular Biology, and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, as well as the Center for Blood Research.

The Department of Genetics will relocate to the EQRF from its present location, the Thorn Building, situated behind the school's main administration building. Its offices in the Thorn Building will then be sold to the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Center for Blood Research will move from its present facility on Huntington Ave.

Tosteson says about that the renovations of Buildings B-2 were just about completed, allowing the members of the Department of Pathology, who had been displaced from that building during the construction, to move back in. The department's move should coincide with the naming of a new department chair in a few months, he says.

As an extension of Quadrangle Buildings B and D, the EQRF will be connected to those buildings on each floor. A covered atrium, featuring a dining area, will be constructed in the courtyard between Buildings B and D.

To serve its research laboratories, the EQRF will feature a variety of floor layouts, including open laboratories as well as central work spaces. An animal facility will be located in the basement for investigators with rodents protected from biological contamination. A truck dock, central receiving area and mail room will also be located in the basement.

Underground Garage

Saltonstall says that the underground garage, being built at a cost of $10 million, will open on Labor Day.

The 500 parking spaces in the garage will replace spaces lost in the lot on Longwood Ave. taken up by the construction of the EQRF, and will also provide spaces for occupants of the new building. It will not provide public parking, officials say.

One of the concerns with the construction of the garage, says Tosteson, was that the landscape design restore the Quadrangle to its original design by Frederick Law Olmstead Jr, and John Charles Olmstead. Because of its historical importance, care was taken to make sure all relevant agencies review the plans, said the dean.

"The garden has been restored to the state in which it was designed to be Frederick Law Olmstead in 1903," says Tosteson. Commencement will be held this year on the Quadrangle lawn, as usual, he said.

Several other construction projects have been completed since last Commencement, Saltonstall says. Vanderbilt Hall, the Medical School's only dormitory, was renovated at a cost of $20 million. Another building, called D-2, was renovated at a cost of $12 million, and a penthouse was added to a building called D-1 at a cost of $2.5 million.

Under Budget

"Everything continues on schedule, with some minor exceptions," says Saltonstall. "Recent contracting is being done at lower costs than expected."

Funding for the renovations is coming from a variety of sources, including gifts, grants and internal finances, says the associate dean. Funds are also being secured through the state-run Health and Education Finance Agency.