April 19, 2000

Improvements Take Shape at Harvard University's Widener Library

The arrival of fourteen flatbed trailers delivering a 185-foot tower crane to the gates of Harvard Yard last June marked the beginning of construction on the Widener Stacks Renovation project. Lee Kennedy Co., Inc. is providing the preconstruction and construction services for this project with Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture and Engineering, P.C.

The library, completed in 1915, was a gift to Harvard University from Mrs. Eleanor Widener in memory of her son, Harry Elkins Widener, Class of 1907. Mr. Widener was a book collector whose personal collection totaled some 3,500 rare books at the time of his death in 1912 as a passenger aboard the Titanic.

At more than 300,000 square feet, Widener is Harvard's largest library and was constructed using the most sophisticated means for its day. The library is a masonry building that contains ten tiers of freestanding, self-supporting steel and iron shelving referred to as the "stacks." As originally designed, air flowed freely from the basement level of the stacks to the ceiling, 76 feet above. The stacks and the surrounding offices were designed to receive fresh air and natural light via large, operable windows opening into the library's two interior courtyards. This design provides for ample light and fresh air, however, it also exposes the collection to fluctuating humidity and temperature, which, it has been learned 85 years later, are among the leading factors in the deterioration of books.

As a result, The Widener Library is undergoing an extensive renovation to modernize its mechanical equipment in order to provide a suitable conservation environment for the stack areas and prolong the life of the library's collection. Moreover, the project includes upgrades to fire detection and suppression systems as well as the addition of new staff workspace and reading rooms.

The most notable progress to date has taken place in the library's two courtyards which are being infilled with three new floor levels and capped with skylights, thus allowing for necessary mechanical space, additional offices and new sky-lit reading rooms. The concrete stair and elevator towers for the infill of the courtyard topped-out in mid-April and structural steel work to support each level began a week later.

The majority of work thus far in the existing library space has taken place in the top and bottom levels where the library's mechanical systems will be housed. Sprinkler, electrical and duct work is now complete in the attic, and portions of the library's highly specialized HVAC equipment with desiccant dehumidification will soon be loaded on the crane, delivered through various openings in the library's roof, and installed in the attic.

Demolition in the bottom level of the stacks is now complete, a new emergency generator has been installed and electrical, HVAC and MEP work has begun. The bulk of the library's mechanical systems will be housed on this level, with duct work originating here and extending up through the stack levels above. Completion of this level is critical to the renovation schedule as it will serve as the initial staging area to receive books as they are relocated ahead of construction. Every book in the collection will be moved at least once during the project to ensure the library's dual goals of keeping the books accessible during the renovation and keeping them isolated from the construction.

One of the added benefits of the Widener Stacks Renovation is the recently completed renovation of the library's Sage Café to accommodate new mechanical work and egress corridors for the project. The café houses two video monitors showing live footage of work as it progresses in the courtyards, and a message board to keep faculty and staff fully informed of construction issues that might affect the daily routine of the library. "Keeping faculty, staff and students informed of the project's progress is very important," notes Executive Vice President Lee Michael Kennedy, "Widener Library is a vital part of Harvard University and good communication with the Harvard community helps develop enthusiasm and interest for this landmark undertaking."

This phase of the Widener Library Renovation is scheduled for completion in April of 2002.

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