Students check into new housing during Old Quincy renovation
With her head tilted back in laughter mimicking the penguin mascot of Quincy House, Emma Lipshultz ’15 and her family members found humor in hauling boxes, bags, and one giant beanbag into Lipshultz’s newfound home: Ridgley Hall.
During the renovation of Old Quincy House, three swing spaces in Harvard Square have become residential extensions of the Quincy community: Ridgley Hall, Hampden Hall, and Fairfax Hall.
Scott Yim ’13, House Committee co-chair, explained the dynamic of this new living situation: “While living spaces are temporarily separated, our sense of community is as strong as it has always been. Our House Committee has an incredible amount of support from our House masters and tutors.”
“Swing housing is working very well,” said Quincy House Co-Master Deb Gehrke. “The students — mostly sophomores — love their apartments and we love seeing them when they come to New Quincy for meals and to study in the dining hall. The Quincy sophomores are a dynamic group and they’re establishing a clear presence in House life. … Quincy students are being fantastic in taking the process in stride.”
Emma Lipshultz `15 (left) moves into swing housing inside Ridgley Hall on Massachusetts Ave. with the help of her brother, Zack, and her mother, Tracy Miller. Immediately after Harvard’s Commencement, fencing for the Old Quincy House renovation was installed. School time and the living is easy! Emma Lipshultz `15 outfits her room in Ridgley Hall with a beanbag couch. Inside Hampden Hall, Wendy Chen `14 (left) sorts through clothes with friend Michelle Timmerman `13, who lives next door in Adams House. Movers assist Edith Chan `12-`13 in moving into her new home: Fairfax Hall. Matt Tufano `13 (from left), Scott Yim `13, and Christine Hughes `13 set up sound equipment for a Quincy House welcome-back barbecue. The façade of Fairfax Hall swing housing is bedecked with balloons. Luchen Wang `14 lounges in front of a student mural depicting Quincy House and the Weeks Bridge in the basement of Old Quincy prior to renovations. Framed by the doorway to his bathroom, Luchen Wang `14 studies in his Old Quincy House dorm before the renovation. Wang’s roommate had to pass through Wang’s room to get to the bathroom and Wang needed to pass through his roommate’s room to leave the dorm. The new configuration is more spacious and provides more privacy. Kyle McIntee `15, (from left), Chuck Katis `15, and Matt Karle `15, who are now living in adjacent rooms in Fairfax Hall swing housing, reunite after the summer. Total eclipse: A student moves from Old Quincy House into swing housing.
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