By Laurence Holland

For nearly all of The Harvard Crimson’s 150-year history as a student newspaper, it reported news in the same way: through a daily print edition produced in the basement of its headquarters at 14 Plympton Street in Cambridge, Mass. When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020, however, it prompted the newspaper to shift its publishing online and ushered in a permanent operational transformation.

As a result, The Crimson’s headquarters no longer sufficiently supported its operations. Most notably, idle printing presses and other dated technologies occupied a significant amount of floor space at the expense of other programmatic needs.

Adapting to A New Culture of Collaboration

In 2024, the Toronto- and Cambridge-based KPMB undertook a renovation to support this new way of working, restart a culture of in-person collaboration and prepare students for the professional world of journalism — the state of which was significantly different when the building was last updated more than 30 years ago.

Fulfilling these ambitions required reconfiguring the building, and the crux of the puzzle was the basement press room. By removing all but one printing press module (which remains as a symbol of the newspaper’s past), the press room has been reimagined as a flexible workspace that relieves pressure on the newsroom during busy production nights. Durable and movable tables and chairs enable it to host large board gatherings and serve as the organization’s event space.

Nearby, a new multimedia suite for video and podcast recording in the basement supports the newspaper’s efforts to keep pace with the industry’s shift towards multimedia journalism, where reporters are increasingly in front of the microphone or camera. Although the recording studio is emblematic of The Crimson’s move to a digital-first publishing model, the space itself is envisioned as flexible infrastructure that can be fitted out and updated according to the organization’s evolving needs.

“Not only does the transformation of a number of previously underutilized spaces allow us to better accommodate a staff of roughly 400 students, but the building supports our work in many ways it could not before,” says President of the newspaper E. Matteo Diaz. “The multimedia suite has already enabled us to relaunch our podcast and develop new video content.”

Futureproofing Through Restraint

For a student-run organization with a limited budget, futureproofing was best achieved through restraint. Rather than creating spaces that risked becoming outdated in the future, the renovation prioritized simplifying layouts and focusing on the basics of technology, such as providing many electrical outlets and TVs with HDMI and casting capabilities, rather than hardwiring technology into the structure. It was crucial that the building be capable of adapting to future and unforeseen needs without reopening the walls.

The ground floor, which houses the main newsroom and supporting spaces, was also renovated to prioritize fluidity. Historically, each section of the newspaper occupied its own office, but the organization’s leadership asked for a less siloed working structure and a greater volume of meeting rooms with improved acoustical privacy. For a news organization, this was not only a matter of concentration, but about the vital importance of preserving the anonymity of sources.

Flexibility and Expansion

Today, the newsroom is ringed by a series of glass-enclosed meeting rooms and small booths scaled for private phone calls, while a mix of formal office furniture and casual seating options support the flexibility afforded by laptop-based work. Overall, the renovation has expanded open work areas by nearly 30% and meeting spaces by 65%.

According to Diaz, replacing small team-specific offices with larger conference rooms has fostered unity across the staff.

The redesign has also improved comfort and wellbeing, creating a more inviting destination for students to work and socialize. The newsroom historically suffered from a lack of natural light. In response, the new meeting rooms feature glass dividing walls to enable daylight to filter into the center of the newsroom. Targeted mechanical upgrades have also allowed for more fine-grained control of building systems for improved occupant comfort.

The most notable piece of new architecture is a 300-square-foot pavilion enclosing a portion of a rooftop terrace, which enables barrier-free access to the second floor and historic ceremonial meeting space, known as the Sanctum, for the first time. While the design team initially explored inserting a second elevator to service the building, doing so would have consumed significant usable floor space. Instead, this new enclosure has enabled a continuous accessible path of travel from the existing elevator into the Sanctum, which has been revived as a place for quiet contemplative work and intimate meetings now that it’s no longer required to serve as the de facto party venue.

The Impact on Operations

How impactful can a renovation defined by restraint be? Since its completion, the building has seen an increase in daily use, with staff spending more time working and socializing on-site. Newspaper leadership also credits the modernized facility with improving their ability to recruit new members.

“The renovation of 14 Plympton St. has been invaluable for The Crimson,” says Diaz. “In just a few months, we have felt the difference that the renovated building makes, and we are incredibly grateful to have a space that will so well equip the next generation of Crimson editors to meet journalism’s digital-first future.”

Laurence Holland is an associate at KPMB, an architecture and design practice based in Toronto, Ontario and Cambridge, Mass. Prior to becoming an architect, Holland studied philosophy at Harvard College, where he was an editor at The Harvard Crimson for four years.

This article was originally published in the .

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• The University of California, San Francisco selected Suffolk and CO Architects to deliver a new Mission Bay Education Center and Dental Clinics project in San Francisco.
• The project will use a progressive design-build delivery model, bringing construction and design expertise into planning from the outset.
• Plans call for educational, clinical and collaborative spaces supporting dental education, research, patient care and the broader health sciences community.
• Suffolk Design will support design management, technical reviews and sustainability efforts during project development.

SAN FRANCISCO — The University of California, San Francisco has selected Suffolk and CO Architects to deliver its Mission Bay Education Center and Dental Clinics project, an initiative intended to expand and modernize space for dental education, clinical care, research and interdisciplinary health sciences learning.

The team will use a progressive design-build model, with Suffolk and CO Architects working with UCSF early in the planning process. , the approach is intended to bring construction and design expertise into decisions involving project complexity, scope, budget and schedule.

Suffolk Design, the contractor’s integrated design management team, will provide design management, technical reviews and sustainability expertise. The planned facility will include educational, clinical and collaborative environments designed to serve dental students, faculty, researchers and clinicians while also supporting UCSF’s broader health sciences community. , the project will create these new spaces within an existing 261,117-square-foot life sciences facility in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood

“UCSF is a world-class institution for dental education, research and patient care, and we’re excited to help bring this next generation of learning and clinical environment to life,” said Preston Hoopes, General Manager of Northern California at Suffolk, .

The project team said the new spaces are intended to encourage collaboration among faculty, researchers and clinicians and support emerging models of interdisciplinary health care. The announcement also identifies adaptable learning environments and technology integration as priorities for the facility.

“This project will integrate cutting-edge technologies, adaptable learning environments, and spaces that foster collaboration and innovation to establish a new benchmark for academic excellence,” said James Simeo, FAIA, Principal-in-Charge for the project at CO Architects, .

The selection adds to Suffolk’s California higher education and design-build portfolio. The company is also involved in the UCSF Parnassus Heights Central Campus Site Improvements project and California Polytechnic State University’s multi-phase student housing expansion program, according to the announcement.

This article is based on a press release published by on Aug. 31, 2026, with additional project information from .

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