Honor: William D. Smith Memorial Award
Project name: Harvard University River Houses
Project location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Firm name: Kieran Timberlake
Jury comments: This complex, challenging project is a pilot for the renovation of additional neo-Georgian River Houses that comprise a National Register Historic District. The work is less of an architecture/design submission than it is a robust master plan—but it is a “tour de force.” We appreciate the practical and functional solutions that transform a horizontally oriented plan into a vertical one, while improving access all around. Previously disconnected places are elegantly united by a circulation system that is welcoming, inclusive, and common for all. The renovation sets an incredibly high bar for global accessibility and visibility, and should be used as an example for replication. It’s not the most beautiful to look at, but the work is practical and complex and achieves the university’s objectives to open minds, hearts, and doors for people of all abilities.
Client: Harvard University
Consultants: KieranTimberlake, Stephen Stimson Associates, CVM, BVH Integrated Services, Nitsch Engineering, Van Hangen Brustlin, vanZelm Heywood & Shadford, Dimeo Construction, Turner Construction Company