Project Name: Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center

Commercial Project: Smith Campus Center at Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, MA

Spaces to Inspire, Entertain, & Build Community

The modern makeover to the Josep Lluis Sert designed Holyoke Center, renamed for its primary donors, Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center, brings new common spaces. The aim is to get people out of isolated single-purpose places and instead explore and interact in these living rooms.

This is in line with Harvard’s former President, Drew Faust’s desire to spark conversation between people of different disciplines and interests. The “common spaces” program continues to fight the isolation that many people feel in a big institution.

The doors are open to the community. The Smith Campus Center is located just across the street from historic Harvard Square. Stop in for a coffee. If you do, enjoy the exterior deck and rooftop terrace that feature HDG Thermory Pavers underfoot and under furniture.

Exterior Deck and Rooftop Terrace

Terraced urban garden features HDG Thermory Pavers


Project Partners:

Architect: Hopkins Architects
Executive Architect: Bruner/Cott
Landscape Architect: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associated

Exterior Deck and Rooftop Terrace: HDG Thermory Pavers

Landscape photos courtesy of Hopkins Architects and The Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Campus Center. 

Fun Facts:

“Josep Lluis Sert was named Dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in 1953, with a complementary appointment as Chairman and Professor of Architecture. During his extraordinarily vibrant and productive tenure as Dean (retiring in 1969), Sert oversaw a variety of innovations in the curriculum, including the establishment of the first formal professional degree program in Urban Design.” – Harvard Design School on the WayBack Machine

Robert Campbell, FAIA, architecture critic for the Boston Globe, RECORD contributor, and author of “How to Get into Harvard“, worked for several years in Sert’s office.

HDG Thermory Pavers

HDG is proud to be a Thermory® dealer and include thermally modified ash among its durable, eco-friendly wood products. Thermal modification gives wood a beautiful rich color and aesthetic appeal. It makes wood more durable, stable, and resistant to the environment. Thermory products are unrivaled in environmental responsibility. Thermory decking tiles provide decks, terraces, and courtyards with the warmth and character of natural wood.

Use Thermory decking with Buzon BC Series pedestals to design raised terraces and decking applications that slope to drain while maintaining a perfectly level surface for furniture, people, and other objects. HDG Building Materials is an expert dealer for Buzon Pedestals and a single-source provider for Thermory deck tiles.

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Architecture, decking-project, HDG Thermory Pavers, outdoor living, rooftop deck, terrace, terraced urban garden, thermally modified wood, thermory-projects, Wood Pavers
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