The renewed Stone Hall, a student residence that forms part of Harvard University's Quincy House, recently received a LEED Platinum rating, the highest level of sustainable building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. As the first in a series of House renewal projects at Harvard, Stone Hall sets an important benchmark for the 2.5 million square feet of renovations that will follow. In addition to meeting ambitious sustainability goals, the renewal preserves Stone Hall's historic architectural character and the "House culture" of the 80 year-old residence.
A new light court replaces an under-utilized alleyway between the dining hall and new common spaces at McKinlock Hall.
At Harvard University, McKinlock Hall (part of Leverett House) reopened to the student community in August following significant renovations. The Harvard Crimson reports that the 165-bed residence hall, the second Harvard House to be renovated under the House renewal program, has been drawing praise from students for its modernized bedrooms and social spaces, including the lower-level spaces dubbed "the Rabbit Hole" (the house mascot is the rabbit).
Glowing glass pavilions at Dilworth Park welcome commuters to underground transit in Center City Philadelphia.
Dilworth Park had its ceremonial opening last week, with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Michael Nutter, who called the renovation “one of the most exciting things to happen in Philadelphia in the past 50 years.” Now, two-thirds of the site adjacent to Philadelphia's City Hall is complete, and the remaining elements will be completed in about six weeks. KieranTimberlake worked on the project in partnership with Urban Engineers and Olin.
Urban Engineers recently released a video of the new Dilworth Park featuring interviews with Philadelphians who expressed their reactions to the new public space, which had its opening on September 4. Urban Engineers worked in partnership with the design team from KieranTimberlake and landscape architects from Olin.
This GIS image shows the Morgantina excavation site in central Sicily. Morgantina reached its peak in the third century BCE thanks to its fertile, grain-producing territory and its likely association with the wealthy empire based in Syracuse—the setting of Archimedes’ famous bathtub discovery of density. With no modern city standing above Morgantina, the site provides one of the better records of the prosperity and the elaborate urban infrastructure achieved in its time. Remains include a large agora, Greek theater, large courtyard houses with early mosaics, and one of the earliest bath complexes, with an elaborate hypocaust system for underfloor heating.
For the past eight years, KieranTimberlake architect James Huemoeller has spent part of each year supporting the archaeological excavations for the Contrada Agnese Project (CAP), directed by Alex Walthall (University of Texas), at the ancient site of Morgantina in central Sicily. James' work developing and implementing data recording and management methods for the excavation continues a tradition started by the Renaissance architect Raphael, who advocated for the systematic recording of ancient ruins to preserve knowledge for future generations in a letter to Pope Leo X.
