Kirkland Residents Hope to Preserve House Character Through Renovations

Several Kirkland House residents said they hoped renovations would improve living spaces while preserving the House’s “charm” and “history,” with construction slated to begin no earlier than the 2028-29 academic year.

Kirkland is next in line for the House Renewal Project after construction on Eliot House concludes in fall 2027. Plans for Kirkland are still being drafted, while Eliot’s renovations, which began in 2025, are expected to finish on time.

In interviews, seven students — six of them Kirkland residents — supported the renovations but worried that changes could erode the House’s “ornate” architectural character. Most of Kirkland was built between 1914 and 1931.

“I think another concern is just how the renovations are going to maintain the quirks that Kirkland House has,” Catherine B. Li ’27 said.

“Like we have these awesome window seats inside a lot of the suites,” she added.

Kirkland will be the seventh House renovated under the project. Ahead of those changes, students stressed preserving the compact layout that fosters its tight-knit feel. Kirkland is the smallest House, with just 313 students in the 2025-26 academic year.

“I do really like the smallness of Kirkland and the close community vibes,” Summer R. Sinsley ’29, a Crimson blog editor, said. “We have very few entryways, and the entryways we do have are very close together.”

While students hoped the House’s unique character would endure, they also identified structural changes they would welcome.

Li pointed to Kirkland’s “walk-through rooms,” which require residents to pass through a suitemate’s bedroom to use the bathroom or exit the suite.

Kimberly A. Bolton ’29 agreed, suggesting changes to room layouts to prioritize student privacy.

“It feels like you’re just on top of each other,” she said.

Li suggested that adding a wall would “change the game” by eliminating the need to pass through suitemates’ bedrooms, even if that meant turning singles into doubles.

Students also debated replacing en-suite bathrooms with hallway bathrooms. Bolton and Viritkarvan Van “Vaughn” Chum ’29, an Eliot resident who dubbed Kirkland his “vacation home,” advocated for the switch.

The two said hallway bathrooms could address privacy concerns posed by walk-through rooms and spare residents the task of cleaning them. Li, however, favored keeping en-suite bathrooms for their “homey” feel.

Students also prioritized improving House amenities, including bathrooms, and addressing pests in living spaces. Li said her dorm has had “so many mouse issues,” despite staff being responsive to maintenance requests.

“I think there’s only so much you can do in an older house, but yeah, it does happen,” Li said. “No matter what dorm, I feel like it just ends up that way.”

Still, students’ central concern was preserving what makes Kirkland “special.”

“I think, at the end of the day, it’s not necessarily about where you live,” Ginger Tie ’29 said. “It’s about the community and the traditions that you uphold within a house that are what really makes house life special.”