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According to Assistant Dean of Faculty of Arts and Sciences Physical Resources Merle Bicknell, one of the primary goals of House renewal—a project set to cost more than $1 billion—is to preserve the historic character of each individual House. Yet the renewal project also offers an opportunity to promote more consistency in House facilities.
“Through renewal, each House will retain its unique character and traditions, yet each House will offer students access to similar amenities,” Bicknell writes in an email.
Renovations will also equalize the rooming situations for seniors, according to Associate Dean of Student Life William Cooper ’94. Cooper writes in an email that plans for House renewal include providing all seniors with “n+1” housing.
Some students say they think House renewal will equalize the residential experience by expanding accessibility and possibly establishing more uniform housing quality.
Quincy HoCo Co-Chair Chanel E. Washington ’15 says she appreciates the installation of more elevators under renewal plans, as the majority of the Houses are not fully accessible to people with physical disabilities.
Miller also cites renewal’s role in potentially designing living spaces on the River that are on par with the rooming quality in the Quad.
“[With House renewal,] River Houses are at least getting closer to the kind of housing folks in the Quad have been lucky enough to have for years now,” he says.
However, changes to brick and mortar cannot alter certain essential elements of the Houses. Construction, for example, will not shorten the walk down Garden St., a distance which many students cite as the main disadvantage to residence in the Quad.
“The biggest drawback to Currier is just distance, which renovations don’t really do that much about,” Miller says.
RENEWING INEQUITY
In addition to such inherent limitations of renewal, the project may exacerbate pre-existing discrepancies, as renovated Houses coexist with those still awaiting renewal.
“Students won’t be in these [renovated] spaces and experience the renewal that their friends are experiencing and [will] feel envious and unhappy about it,” says Dean of Student Life Stephen Lassonde, citing the considerable time it will take to renovate all the Houses. “That’s just the pain of this process, and there’s no way to avoid it.”
But with renewal projects set to remain along the River for some time to come, some students are concerned that perceptions of the Quad Houses will suffer.
