Gund Hall Awarded Prestigious 2025 Preservation Award: Harvard, Redgate, Bruner/Cott Architects, Shawmut Design and Construction and Project Partners Receive Sole Robert H. Kuehn Award at the Annual Ceremony for Collaborative Partnerships and Creative Rehabilitation

The Gund Hall envelope renewal project was the sole recipient of Preservation Massachusetts 2025 Robert H. Kuehn, Jr. Award. The highly esteemed Kuehn Award is presented to a project that excels in melding collaborative partnerships with creative, cutting-edge ideas for the rehabilitation and active reuse of historic buildings.

“The Gund Hall renovation reflects the regional culture of innovation, sustainability, and conservation—and serves as a leading example of each throughout the Commonwealth and beyond,” said Preservation Massachusetts.

Located just north of Harvard Yard, Gund Hall is home to the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Built in 1972 and designed by architect John Andrews, a graduate of the school, the building is a seminal example of modernist architecture. The envelope renewal project preserved the building’s original design intent while significantly upgrading its performance to align with Harvard’s ambitious climate goals—achieving fossil fuel neutrality by 2026 and fossil fuel freedom by 2050—while also enhancing occupant comfort and energy efficiency.

Redgate served as Harvard’s strategic real estate and project management advisor, leading the effort from initial feasibility in 2021 through project delivery. The firm focused on aligning institutional goals, performance criteria, and budgetary targets through a disciplined feasibility and target value design process. Working closely with the project construction manager, Shawmut Design and Construction and their design-assist trade partner A&A Window Products, Redgate helped ensure that the project remained executable, high-performing, and innovative. Bruner/Cott Architects served as the design lead, driving the project’s architectural and sustainability vision while managing a multidisciplinary team of consultants from across the country. The project was ultimately delivered within a single summer construction window.

“This project exemplifies what’s possible when preservation and partnership come together,” said Kristi Dowd, Principal and Institutional Practice Leader at Redgate. “Gund Hall is an iconic structure, and Redgate is proud to have supported a strategy that protects its legacy while advancing Harvard’s sustainability vision. It serves as a model for performance-driven historic rehabilitation.”

“From the outset, our objective was to marry conservation with high-performance design,” added Julia Gutierrez, Project Manager at Redgate. “We’re proud to have contributed to the revitalization of this 53-year-old landmark, using a hybrid vacuum-insulated glazing system that significantly enhances thermal comfort and efficiency while honoring the building’s character.”

The completed project exceeded Massachusetts’ specialized Stretch Energy Code while preserving the building’s architectural integrity. Notably, Gund Hall became one of the first structures in the region to integrate hybrid vacuum-insulated glazing at scale, mirroring the dimensions of the original curtain wall while delivering superior performance—setting a precedent for modern envelope retrofits in historically significant buildings.

“When we work on significant buildings of this period, we focus on conserving and delivering design-intent rather than original materials or assemblies, which allows us more freedom to creatively meet contemporary needs” said George H. Gard, AIA, Associate and Project Manager at Bruner/Cott Architects “The twin goals of conservation and high-performance led us to an in-depth study of the building’s design and existing conditions in parallel with a study of available technologies, in order for us to develop a bespoke approach that was without compromise”

“Gund Hall exemplifies how cutting-edge technology can breathe new life into architectural heritage,” said Jason Jewhurst, FAIA, Partner and Principal at Bruner/Cott Architects. “The design honors the original intent of John Andrews while pushing the boundaries of what high-performance facades can achieve in historically significant structures. As one of the first projects in the region to extensively deploy hybrid vacuum insulated glazing, this effort sets a new standard for performance-driven preservation. It reflects Harvard’s leadership and a bold vision for revitalizing modernist landmarks through innovation, resilience, and design excellence.”

“Executing a project of this complexity within the tight constraints of an active campus and an accelerated summer schedule required intense coordination, technical precision, and deep collaboration across every team,” said Ryan Lynch, Vice President of Education, New England Region at Shawmut Design and Construction. “We’re proud to have led the construction effort to preserve and modernize this architectural landmark—transforming it into a high-performance space that reflects both Harvard’s sustainability goals and the building’s enduring design legacy. We’re especially grateful to the teams at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Bruner/Cott for their close partnership and collaboration from preconstruction through delivery.”

Additional project partners include Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH), Vanderweil Engineers, Lam Partners, Jensen Hughes, Kalin Associates, Heintges Consulting, Architects & Engineers, A&A Window Products, Oldcastle Building Envelope (OBE 360), and Vitro. The completed envelope was delivered in Q4 2024.

“This was an all-hands effort, and every team member brought the best of their experience and ingenuity. The whole team should be very proud of the project and this award,” said Gard.

Gund Hall was honored with the Kuehn Award at Preservation Massachusetts’ award ceremony on Friday, June 6 at 521 Overlook at Fenway Park. More information on Gund Hall and all other awardees can be found at preservationmass.org/awardees.

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About Redgate

At Redgate, our mission is to enrich lives and communities by unlocking the power of real estate. Founded in 2010 and active in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and North Carolina, we invest in, advise on, and manage real estate projects throughout the East Coast. Through customized owners’ representation and strategic advisory services, our team has helped corporations, healthcare and higher education institutions and investors solve the most complex real estate challenges. As an investment manager, project sponsor, and operator, Redgate pursues an opportunistic strategy that delivers attractive, risk-adjusted returns to equity investors in the multifamily, life sciences, and industrial real estate sectors in priority high-growth markets. For more information, visit www.redgate-re.com.

About Bruner/Cott Architects

Bruner/Cott Architects is a Boston-based design firm with a 50+ year legacy of creating award-winning architecture that transforms places and communities. Known for its inventive, thoughtful approach, the firm blends design excellence with a deep commitment to sustainability, artistry, and legacy and is recognized as a leader in the preservation and transformative reuse of historic buildings. The firm’s key practice areas include designing for higher education campuses, cultural institutions, and multifamily developers, with a special emphasis on convergence between traditional preservation and high-performance, sustainable architecture.

The firm is a two-time recipient of the AIA COTE Top Ten Award and has won numerous design awards including the AIA Interior Architecture Award, DoCoMoMo US Modernism in America Award, and the Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information about Bruner/Cott Architects, please visit brunercott.com.

About Shawmut Design and Construction

Shawmut Design and Construction is a $2 billion national construction management firm with a reputation for completing extremely complex and logistically challenging projects. As a 100% employee-owned company, Shawmut has created a culture of ownership, proactive solution-making, and forward-thinking. Over 80 percent of its business comes from repeat clients, with a strong focus on building lasting partnerships. Shawmut has 11 offices, including Boston, Worcester, Providence, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. For more information, please visit www.shawmut.com.

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