Editing Harvard Science Center

{{Short description|Building on the Harvard University campus}}
[[File:Harvard-Science-Center-Josep-Lluis-Sert-Apr-2014.jpg|thumb|Harvard Science Center at [[Harvard University]] seen from the southwest with roof house astronomical optical telescopes visible]]
The '''Harvard University Science Center''' is [[Harvard University]]'s main classroom and laboratory building for undergraduate science and mathematics, in addition to housing numerous other facilities and services. 
Located just north of [[Harvard Yard]], the Science Center was built in 1972<ref name="book">{{cite book|last1=Bunting|first1=Bainbridge|last2=Henderson|first2=Margaret|title=Harvard: An Architectural History|date=1985|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA|isbn=978-0674372917|pages=239{{ndash}}243|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hc5PAAAAMAAJ|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref> and opened in 1973<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stayner|first1=Christian|title=Reshaping Harvard's Landscape|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/10/10/reshaping-harvards-landscape-as-the-architect/|publisher=The Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="library history">{{cite web|title=History|url=http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/cabot/history.cfm|website=Cabot Library|publisher=Harvard Library|access-date=13 November 2015|archive-date=22 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622143519/http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/cabot/history.cfm|url-status=dead}}</ref> after a design by [[Josep Lluís Sert]], who was then dean of the [[Harvard Graduate School of Design]].<ref name = "ny">{{cite web|last1=Goldberger|first1=Paul|title=JOSEP L. SERT, 80, ARCHITECT, WAS HARVARD DEAN OF DESIGN|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/17/obituaries/josep-l-sert-80-architect-was-harvard-dean-of-design.html|work=New York Times|ref=ny|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref>

== History ==
=== Planning ===
[[File:Harvard college - science center.jpg|thumb|The building sits astride a major pedestrian passage between [[Harvard Yard]] and the northern parts of campus]]
Harvard had been interested in building an undergraduate science center in the 1950s and 1960s. However, in the midst of an economic decline, funding could not be found. No concrete plans were made until in 1968, [[Edwin Land]], inventor of the [[Polaroid camera|Polaroid "Land" camera]], made a $12.5 million donation to construct a science center specifically for undergraduates.<ref name="mag">{{cite web|last1=The Harvard Magazine|title=Reshaping the Science Center|url=http://www.harvardmagazine.com/2002/01/reshaping-the-science-ce.html|website=Harvard Magazine|publisher=Harvard Magazine|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="headache">{{cite web|last1=Shapiro|first1=Peter|title=A $10 Million Science Center Headache|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1972/9/1/a-10-million-science-center-headache/?page=1|website=The Harvard Crimson|publisher=The Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref>

Opponents of the plan feared that funding would be insufficient to complete the project, and that the building's maintenance costs would be unreasonably high.<ref name="headache" /> The Biology Department also protested the move of its undergraduate-instruction facilities far from the department's main quarters. Professor [[George Wald]] argued that this would degrade the quality of instruction. There was also dissatisfaction with cancellation of plans at that time for a new biochemistry building.<ref name=letsnot>{{cite web|last1=Nepom|first1=Jerry|title=How (Not) To Build a Science Center|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1971/6/17/how-not-to-build-a-science/?page=1|website=The Harvard Crimson|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref>

The plan called for demolition of Lawrence Hall, a laboratory and a living space built in 1848. By the time of the scheduled demolition, a commune of students and "[[street people]]" calling themselves the "Free University" had taken residence in the unused building.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Epps|first1=Garrett|title=Policemen Enter Free U.|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1970/5/7/policemen-enter-free-u-ppolice-entered/|website=The Crimson|publisher=The Crimson|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Johnson|first1=Bruce|title=Free University Stays Without Authorization|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1970/4/14/free-university-stays-without-authorization-pwithout/|website=The Crimson|publisher=The Crimson|access-date=30 December 2017}}</ref> The controversy was rendered moot when fire gutted the building a month later in May 1970.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Epps|first1=Garrett|title=Fire Guts Lawrence Hall; Wall Collapses on Firemen|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1970/5/8/fire-guts-lawrence-hall-wall-collapses/|website=The Harvard Crimson|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref><ref name=fire>{{cite web|last1=GoldHaber|first1=Samuel|title=Cox: Memories of Fire|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1971/3/22/cox-memories-of-fire-pwhen-archibald/|website=The Harvard Crimson|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref>

As part of the project, in 1966{{ndash}}68 the portion of Cambridge Street running along the north edge of [[Harvard Yard]] was depressed into a 4-lane motor vehicle [[underpass]], thus allowing unhindered pedestrian movement between the Yard and Harvard facilities to the north, including the new Science Center. Architectural historian Bainbridge Bunting wrote that this was the "most important improvement in Cambridge since the construction of [what would later be called] [[Memorial Drive (Cambridge)|Memorial Drive]] in the 1890s".<ref name="book"/>

=== Construction ===
Harvard commissioned architects [[Sert, Jackson and Associates]] to design and build the facility. [[Josep Lluis Sert]], who had become Dean of the Harvard School of Design in 1953, had designed a number of other Harvard buildings, including [[Peabody Terrace]], Holyoke Center (now the [[Smith Campus Center]]), and the Harvard Divinity School's [[Center for the Study of World Religions]]. These buildings were part of a modernist movement that sought to break away from the Georgian and related styles used at Harvard for hundreds of years. Thus, the Science Center is largely steel and concrete, with abundant natural light.<ref name="ny"/><ref name = "letsnot"/> Construction lasted from 1970 to 1972.<ref name = "letsnot"/>

From 2001 to 2004 a $22&nbsp;million, {{convert|32,000|sqft|adj=on}} renovation created space for the [[Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments]] and expanded other facilities.<ref name=mag/><ref name=renov1>{{cite web|last1=Vascellaro|first1=Jessica|title=Science Center to Undergo Renovation|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2001/10/23/science-center-to-undergo-renovation-construction/|website=The Harvard Crimson|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref><ref name=renov2>{{cite web|last1=Meisel|first1=Matthew|title=Science Center Work Nears Finish|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/4/13/science-center-work-nears-finish-after/?page=1|website=The Harvard Crimson|publisher=The Harvard Crimson|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref> A room-sized historic [[electromechanical computer]] built in 1944, the [[Harvard Mark I]], was displayed on the ground floor next to the central stairwell in the main lobby of the building (it has since been moved to the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in Allston, Massachusetts).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Powell |first1=Alvin |title=Harvard’s Mark 1 finds its new home |url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/07/harvards-mark-1-finds-its-new-home/ |website=Harvard Gazette |access-date=2023-08-17 |date=23 July 2021}}</ref>

== Facilities ==
[[File:Harvard Yard at Night 02.jpg|thumb|The Science Center's plaza (foreground) as seen from the Harvard Science Center overlooking [[Harvard Yard]]]]
[[File:Tanner Fountain, Harvard University - IMG 9014-1.JPG|thumb|Tanner Fountain in front of the Science Center]]
The Science Center comprises nine stories, plus a basement and observatory floor. It houses the History of Science, the Mathematics, and the Statistics Departments. Other facilities include:<ref>{{cite web|title=Science Center - Director's Office|url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scdiroff/|publisher=Harvard FAS|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref>
* [[Cabot Science Library]]<ref name="library history"/>
* [[Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments]] (CHSI), housing the History of Science Department's 20,000 objects, dating back to 1400<ref name=collection>{{cite web|title=The Collection|url=https://chsi.harvard.edu/chsi_collection.html|website=Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments|publisher=Harvard University|access-date=13 November 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906104859/http://chsi.harvard.edu/chsi_collection.html|archive-date=6 September 2015}}</ref>
* 5 large lecture halls, seating between 132 and 500<ref name = "rooms">{{cite web|title=Science Center Room Scheduling|url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scdiroff/schedule.htm|publisher=Harvard FAS|access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref>
* 15 smaller general-use classrooms<ref name="rooms"/>
* Teaching laboratories for chemistry, physics, biology, and other sciences
* Rooftop astronomical observatory with large optical telescopes
* Faculty and staff offices

Secreted beneath the Science Center itself and its courtyard (and largely unknown those who work and study at Harvard) is a "gargantuan" chilled water plant, "a magnificent [[Giovanni Battista Piranesi#The Prisons .28Carceri.29|Piranesi]]-like interior with the volume of Boston's [[Symphony Hall, Boston|Symphony Hall]]"{{r|book}} providing cooling to many Harvard buildings from the Science Center northward.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goldstein |first1=Susan |title=The Great Chilled Water Bazaar Or Harvard's Energy Labyrinth |url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1978/1/12/the-great-chilled-water-bazaar-or |publisher=The Crimson|date=January 12, 1978 |access-date=13 November 2015}}</ref> The building itself was first opened around the time of the [[1973 oil crisis]], and was plagued with huge energy costs, temperature control problems, and roof leaks for decades.<ref name="Gammill">{{cite journal |last1=Gammill |first1=Marion B. |title=`They Don't Look Like Harvard' |journal=The Harvard Crimson |date=October 9, 1993 |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1993/10/9/they-dont-look-like-harvard-pwe/ |access-date=2022-03-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Heating and Cooling |url=https://scictr.fas.harvard.edu/files/hehuishan_test/files/heating_article_v3_0.pdf |website=Science Center Building Operations |publisher=Harvard University FAS |access-date=2022-03-17}}</ref>

The plaza between the Science Center and [[Harvard Yard]], created by the depression of Cambridge Street and Broadway into a large tunnel, is used at various times for food trucks, roller skating, ice skating, and other activities such as markets and concerts. Tents are erected for special events such as Commencement.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/9/12/science-center-plaza-common/|title = Science Center Plaza Common Space Construction Underway|publisher = [[The Harvard Crimson]]|access-date = 11 Nov 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/2/24/science-center-plaza-renovations/ |title = Harvard To Upgrade Science Center Plaza |publisher = [[The Harvard Crimson]]|access-date = 11 Nov 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/10/17/food-truck-could-return/ |title = Chicken and Rice Guys Truck May Return to Plaza in Spring|publisher = [[The Harvard Crimson]]|access-date = 11 Nov 2017}}</ref>
The Tanner Fountain, a sculptural installation of large boulders and landscaping, operates during warm weather.
{{-}}
{{wide image|File:Harvard University Science Center - panorama.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|Panorama of Harvard Science Center, viewed from the plaza in front||center|}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~scdiroff/ Harvard University Science Center]

{{Harvard}}

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[[Category:Harvard University buildings|Science Center]]
[[Category:University and college buildings completed in 1973]]
[[Category:Modernist architecture in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1973 establishments in Massachusetts]]