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Two highly visible projects took shape on campus this past summer - one forward looking and one aimed at preserving a historic campus landmark. The first is the Spangler Center, the new campus center that is rapidly rising from its recently dug foundation between Aldrich Hall and the School's parking lot.
As many as one hundred workers have been laboring on the site each day, pouring the concrete foundation and positioning the structural steel beams and columns. While the summer's extreme heat occasionally halted work early - temperatures in the pit reached as high as 130 degrees - excavation was completed on July 1. HBS chief of operations David Moffatt describes the site as an easy one to work with. "We are operating in a limited space, but because it's an on-campus site, we don't have the kind of constraints one would find, for example, in downtown Boston," he explains. Praising contractor William A. Berry & Son for a "superb job," Moffatt has been pleased with progress on the building. "The whole project has been characterized by good fortune," he says.
While the outside structure is going up, planning has also begun for the interior design of the building. "There's a lot going on behind the scenes," notes Angela Crispi (MBA '90), assistant dean, chief planning officer. "We're choosing color palettes and making decisions about furniture, flooring, and lighting fixtures. We're also planning the landscaping around the building." Robert A.M. Stern Architects, based in New York City, is responsible for both the interior and the exterior design of the new building, which has been made possible by the generosity of C.D. ("Dick") Spangler, Jr. (MBA '56), and his family.
Not far from the Spangler construction site, work was also under way several stories up. Harvard pedestrians - both near and far - may notice a new gleam in Baker Library's recently restored bell tower. RJA Painting, based in Watertown, Massachusetts, repaired, painted, and applied fresh gold leaf to the structure, completing the job in mid-August. According to Dave Moffatt, the 55-foot-tall cupola - last refurbished in the summer of 1983 - was due for some tender loving care. "The weather conditions in this region necessitate restoration about every fifteen years," he explains.
Gilder Richard Pawlick applied the gold leaf to the bell tower's dome and spire. Pawlick, who also restored the dome on the Massachusetts State House, notes that the Baker Library restoration required between thirteen and fifteen rolls of the shiny stuff. "Each roll is 41/4 inches wide and 67 feet long," he says. "In order to achieve optimum color and luster, it is very important to properly prime and then size the surface for the right level of tackiness before laying down the gold leaf." After pressing on the paper-thin strips of gold, Pawlick burnished the dome with a soft brush before giving it a final polish.
Built in 1927, the Baker Library bell tower was one of three planned for the campus. However, budget constraints squelched plans for bell towers on the river residence halls. "It's good to see the Baker Library cupola returned to its original splendor," says Moffatt, who notes that the Cotting House cupola - which does not have a bell - is slated for restoration next year.
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