Harvard Seeks to Cut Cost of Mather House

Mather House, Harvard's planned tenth House, may not be completed by its target date of September, 1969, because University estimates of construction costs have not been met by bids from any prospective builders.

"The costs were much higher than we had anticipated," President Pusey said in an interview. Harvard has been publicly estimating the construction cost of the new House at $8 million. University officials have declined to estimate just how much higher than that figure construction bids have been.

As a result of the unexpectedly high bids, planning officials have been conducting a series of meetings to look into ways of cutting construction costs. These discussion have centered on substituting more economical methods and materials rather than subtracting entire physical parts of the new House, Pusey said.

Meetings

The meetings to cut out costs have included L. Gard Wiggins, administrative vice-president, Arthur D. Trottenberg '48, assistant dean of the Faculty for Resources and Planning, representatives of the architects, Buildings and Grounds officials, and outside consultants.

Harvard has already decided not to cover the outside of the House with an experimental tile finish, as had been proposed by Jean-Paul Carlhian, the architect. It decided last Spring to use pre-cast concrete instead, effecting a savings of $200,000.

As now planned, the House will consist of a 21-story main building surrounded by three five-story sections. The low-rise sections will contain the dining hall, library, common rooms, and rooms for resident tutors and a few students. The bulk of Mather students will live in the 200-foot all tower.

Time

Trottenberg said yesterday that there is no fixed deadline for the construction costs to be cut. But he added, "Obviously, time is running out if we want to open in September, 1969."

In addition to delaying the opening of Mather House, an extended wait before cuts could also mean that more will have to be cut. New England construction costs are now rising faster than those in other sections of the country, Trottenberg said. He blamed that on the large amount of new construction going on at this time in New England.

Trottenberg said that the planners have considered replacing the planned brick sidewalks around Mather House with poured cement sidewalks, as a money-saving change. He suggested that revision would be along similar lines.