Gund Scheduled to Undergo $5 Million Summer Renovation

One of the University's newest buildings will be the site this summer of a $5 million renovation project, which will make routine maintenance repsits and correct problems with its innovative design.

Work on Gund Hall, the central building of the Graduate School of Design (GSD), will begin next week and should be finished by September I. Edith C. Groden, director of building services for the GSD, said last week.

Groden added that renovation of the 11-year-old building was necessary because of leaks in the roof and windows and problems with heating and ventilation. "Everyone complained," she said.

Don M. Hisaka head of Cambridge based Don M. Hisaka and Associates, Inc., the architectural firm in charge of the renovation project, said that Gund's problems stem partly from the building's experiment design.

"Gund is a successful building design-wise, but because the design was so complex, innovative and daring, there were a number of calculated risks involved, and now some of the technical details need refinement." Hinake said.

He cited the fiberglass covering on the building as one of the experimental features that needs attention.

Hisaka added that some of the repairs will increase Gund Hall's energy efficiency, a factor overlooked when it was built. "In view of energy costs today, it makes sense in the long run to spend a little now to save in the future," he explained.

Groden also attributed the necessity of some repairs to the approximately one half million dollars worth of cuts that were made in Gund Hall's original design "I suspect we're paying for that now," she added.

The $8 million concrete, steel and glass structure houses the GSD's library, auditorium, classrooms, studios and offices.

GSD Associate Dean for Administration Kate Rooney blamed part of the building's poor condition on the New England weather.

Rooney explained that the concrete of modern buildings does not hold up to changing air temperatures as well as the brick and mortar of older buildings--such as the undergraduate Houses--because it cannot expand and contract as well.

Holyoke Center another modern building, is having the same problems Gund is," she added.

Groden said that the extensive repairs, including replacing the main roof and many of the windows, as well as installing new ventilation and lighting systems, will force the GSD to relocate its summer programs.

Although a few members of the summer faculty and administration will remain in Gund, most of the programs, including the summer school, will be moved to other locations within the University, Groden added.