Hard Hat Headlines
August 2008

Taft's Big Dig

The school broke ground in June, beginning what is likely the largest construction project in the school's history, and which affects the school's most historic building.

The need for a new dining hall--the current one having been overcrowded since the advent of coeducation in 1971--prompted a quarter-century of planning that is finally seeing fruit.

Why so long? Every scenario came up against the same obstacle: how to enlarge the space, to preserve the tradition of a dining commons at the heart of the school, and to continue to feed more than 700 people, seven days a week, three meals a day through most of the year.

Many schools may have opted for the faster, less costly option of a new stand-alone structure, but from the outset the trustees recognized that such a move would fundamentally alter the culture of our school.

Designed by the renowned Gund Partnership of Cambridge, Massachusetts, here are highlights of what the new project will accomplish:

•Increased space for dining in order to seat the entire community—flexible
enough for buffet meals, formal sit-down dinners, banquets, special events, class dinners and all-school celebrations

•A more efficient, functional and attractive kitchen

•An improved dining experience—with smaller, round tables, better lighting and increased views

•Relocated loading dock (which in its current location is noisy, unsightly and dangerous), thereby creating a pedestrian courtyard in front of McIntosh House

•ADA-compliant bathrooms at the west end of HDT and bringing
the 1914 building into life-safety and fire-code compliance

•A modern recycling facility and environmentally sensitive,
LEED-certified building

•Historic renovation of the adjacent first floor of Mr. Taft’s quarters

To find out more about the project, which is scheduled for completion by early 2010, please see the recent Taft Bulletin article.