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The crane has the capacity to
lift up to
28,000 lbs.
Twelve hundred cubic yards of
soil was
excavated from the courtyards.
Infill of the courtyard will provide
three
additional floor levels inside the library.
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Titanic passenger, Harry Elkins Widener, met
his death in the North Atlantic on that fateful night in 1912.
Although tragic, his death provided the inspiration for the
construction of Harvard University’s largest library.
Mr. Widener, a 1907 graduate of Harvard, was
a book collector whose personal collection totaled some 3,500
rare books before his death. As a gift from Mrs. Eleanor Widener
in memory of her lost son, Harvard's Widener Library was built
in 1915 to properly house her perished son’s books. According
to urban myth, Mrs. Widener even insisted that as part of
her gift, the University require all students to be able to
swim before graduating.
Although the myth is false, it is true that
in appreciation for her gracious gift, the University does
place fresh flowers every week in a room where Harry Widener’s
portrait hangs as was once verbally requested by Mrs. Widener.
Considered exceedingly innovative in its day,
the library's stacks are freestanding, self-supporting steel
and iron shelving which stand 10 tiers high. Air can flow
freely from the basement level of the stacks to the ceiling,
76 feet above. The rare book collection and offices were designed
to receive fresh air via large, opening windows facing into
the library's courtyard. This sophisticated design was thought
to provide the most advanced means for storing books.
However, 85 years later, it has been learned
that fresh air, along with fluctuating humidity and temperature,
are the leading factors in the deterioration of books.
Enter Lee Kennedy Co., Inc.
Lee Kennedy Company is providing the preconstruction
and construction services on the two-fold Widener Library
renovation/preservation project with Einhorn Yaffee Prescott
Architects. The first aspect of the project is to cap each
courtyard with skylights and convert the area into office
and reading room space. Thus allowing for three additional
floor levels inside the library and added protection of the
books from the elements.
A lofty, yellow, 185-foot Liebherr tower crane,
with a 230-foot boom, is being used to perform the infill
of the courtyards. The purpose of the crane, snugly positioned
behind Harvard Yard's wall on Mass Ave., is to drop equipment
into the courtyards, remove excavation debris and handle the
steel framing and metal deck of the new floors and the skylight
trusses.
The second aspect of the renovation involves
performing significant mechanical enhancements to the library.
LKCo will install a new HVAC system with desiccant dehumidification
for the stack areas and new lighting. Furthermore, the stack
levels will be compartmentalized on each level, reducing the
damage a fire would cause were the stacks to remain open.
New-state-of-the-art fire protection and fire alarm systems
will also complement the enclosed stack levels.
Keeping faculty, staff and students informed
of the project’s progress is a paramount concern. A video
camera is positioned in each courtyard and captures footage
of the construction which can be viewed live on two television
screens in the library’s staff lounge. A third television
screen acts as a message board, displaying upcoming construction
announcements. Project schedules have even been posted in
elevators to publicize milestones and developments. Progress
reports and photos can also be found at www.fas.harvard.edu/~planning/widener/.
The true benefactor of this dynamic project
won't actually be the 300,000 square-foot building, but rather,
the 3.5 million volumes, including a rare book collection,
housed inside the library. Every measure is being taken to
ensure each book’s protection throughout the project.
Rather than work around the books, as often occurs in library
renovations, every book in the Widener library will be moved
at least once through several construction phases in order
to protect the books and keep the library open for the Harvard
Community during the two-and-a-half-year project.
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