Pfoho Plans JCR Remodeling

When Pforzheimer House residents return to the Quad come spring semester, they will return to an entirely revamped Junior Common Room.

The two-step renovation—which House Masters Nicholas A. Christakis and Erika L. Christakis ’86 described as “long overdue” in an email to Pfoho residents on Tuesday—is scheduled to begin over winter break.

The first stage will involve modest modifications to the space’s visual appearance, including a fresh coat of paint and new carpeting and tiles.

The House will also purchase new lighting, which the Masters described as a “hanging light fixture that looks sort of like a big web or a cloud and has colored LED lights around it,” as well as new furniture.

The House Masters wrote that different floor coverings will demarcate the JCR into three “zones” which students can use for a variety of activities such as eating, playing darts, watching TV, or hosting big events. The space will also be outfitted with arcade game machines.

The second stage, which the Masters wrote would not start for “a couple of years,” involves architectural changes aimed at integrating the Quad Grille into the larger JCR space. Although the Grille is currently adjacent to the common room, the two spaces are separated by a wall that will be torn down during a future renovation.

The Masters described their design decisions as “driven by cost issues, primarily” and indicated that the second stage of renovations would not begin until the House is able to procure sufficient funds for the project.

The money for the first phase of renovations will come from House funds, as well as money Dean of the College Evelynn M. Hammonds allocated as part of a larger initiative to improve student social space throughout the Houses.

Hammonds recently identified the Pfoho JCR and Quad Grille—as well as the Eliot House Grille, the first floor of the Student Organization Center at Hilles, and Cabot Cafe—as spaces in need of “substantial enhancements.”

According to House Committee Co-chair Maya C. Ayoub ’12, the House Masters solicited input from students over the house email list while finalizing plans for the new common space. A committee of students worked with the House Masters and architects to arrive at the final design for the room.

Ayoub said that the new JCR will be more accessible and modern, making it “a good place for students to hang out and study.”

“I envision seeing a lot of cool HoCo events [there] in the future,” she said.

The Masters wrote in their email that improvements to the House, which include the renovations to the JCR, as well as the creation of a “Pfoto” and videography lab, “will enable us to do more creative programming.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Pfoho resident Tasnoba Nusrat ’13 said. “I think it will create a little more cohesion in the Quad and a stronger sense of community.”

—Staff writer Nathalie R. Miraval can be reached at nmiraval@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Hana N. Rouse can be reached at hrouse@college.harvard.edu.