Union Works Proceeds

By Debra Bradley Ruder

Gazette Staff

Renovations to the Harvard Union resumed fully last week after a judge turned down a request by protesters to halt the project, which will provide space for 12 humanities departments and programs in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Isaac Borenstein denied the preliminary injunction sought by a group calling itself the Harvard Alumni Architectural Review Committee and 19 individuals, who include 13 alumni. The group primarily opposes the reconfiguration of the Union's "great hall," a former student dining room.

"Although the changes to the Great Hall will be extensive, Harvard has taken steps to protect the historically and architecturally significant features of the building by collaborating with the Cambridge Historical Commission and by hiring the noted architectural preservation firm of Goody, Clancy & Associates," Borenstein wrote.

He said committee members did not show they would likely prevail legally or that they would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction were not granted.

"I should rather be in construction than in court," said Dean of the FAS Jeremy Knowles. "Our faculty and students in the humanities are very glad that the Union renovation is back on track."

Said FAS project manager Elizabeth Randall, "I'm very pleased that the project is in full swing again, and the subcontractors are excited to be back on the job. The delay put a lot of people out of work."

Construction stopped on March 26 after the alumni group filed a lawsuit against Harvard, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board, and obtained a temporary restraining order. Borenstein heard the case on April 2 and lifted the restraining order two days later. In the meantime, he allowed some of the work to continue, as long as it did not affect the "great hall."

In court, the arguments centered on whether the project underwent the proper historical reviews before construction began in February.

The controversy surrounding the Union renovation has drawn considerable media attention and has prompted some faculty members of the Graduate School of Design to criticize the plans.

The turn-of-the-century building and the adjoining Burr Hall on Quincy Street will be the centerpiece of a humanities complex that will bring together many humanities departments and programs now scattered around the University. The project, under discussion for nearly a decade, is designed to address a serious space shortage and to enhance intellectual collaboration in the humanities.