Barnes & Noble Harvard

Over 100 Years of Tradition

The Coop located in Cambridge, Massachusetts is renowned as the historic Harvard University bookstore where it is acclaimed for its expansive collection of books, posters, and University insignia merchandise. It serves as a central hub of the Cambridge campus for visiting parents, alumni, and students and tourists from around the world.

Over the course of its 140-year history, The Coop has been many things and continues to evolve. The building initially sold firewood, housed 21 tailors to serve the students who wore sports coats and ties, and The Coop was even known as one of the largest retailers for music in New England. In 1997 the iconic building became a bookstore and café and continues to be referred to today as The Coop.

Bringing it back to its bones

The Coop was renovated in 1996-1997, but the latest project managed by architect Arrowstreet, Inc. and the designers at McGinty Co. has focused on infrastructure, merchandising, and a consolidation of the retailing that had been split between three buildings. One of the major goals for the renovation was to make the space more adaptable. “We’re bringing it back to its bones,” said The Coop president Jerry Murphy ’73, M.B.A. ’77, during a tour of the bookstore’s overhaul.

While taking advantage of the pandemic-induced reduction of activity in Harvard Square, the project managers for The Coop renovation wanted to ensure a cost and time efficient renovation. They hoped to renew the traditional appeal of the facility by re-vamping some of the original architectural features.

“The Barnes & Noble design and construction teamand The Coop wanted to keep the overall project looking old school but integrate the latest technologies for energy efficiency in SSL lighting and lighting controls,”notedDan Fowler of Capitol Light. “We supplied all new lighting from leading manufacturers, worked with Ideoli to create a number of custom LED fixtures, and maximized the latest in technology by utilizing advanced lighting controls with Wattstopper lighting panels and switches throughout the building.“

Chosen for their service, quality, time frame, cost consciousness, and LED options, Ideoli was selected by Capitol Light’s Dan Fowlerto create custom lighting solutions that would meet the design objectives of The Coop renovation. Ideoli was able to design a variety of luminaires that work within a historic space yet deliver modern energy savings and optics to update this legendary building.

“The Coop is behind all the decisions made on this important project,” remarked Dan. “Ideoli and the lighting design team at McGinty Co. worked together to present a variety of options to update the lighting that would meet the targeted budget and could be delivered in the identified timeframe.”

Honor a historic feel, yet deliver modern features

As patronswalk into The Coop,they are welcomed by beautiful Shando LED disc chandeliers created by Ideoli. The 36-inch LED disc features a progressive design and materials that invigorate the space yetwork with the historical context of the interior design. The plated brass finish on the canopy,stem and frame of the circular disc complementsthe warm wood tones found throughout the space. The 67W LED disc chandelier delivers 5000 lumensin a frosted acrylic downlight to easily brighten up the space and cast a warm glow at 3000K. The circular Shando LED disc can be seen throughout the open atrium in a traditional pendant mount with a combination of a brass pendant chain and 4-stem pendant arms that hold the luminaire at 96” from the ceiling. To accommodate for different ceiling heights within the main atrium lobby area, Ideoli’s design team had to further refine this stylistic luminaire by creating a variety of mounting options with the same cohesive style that would work for shorter ceiling heights within the space. This same circular style luminaire can be found as visitors continue to the otherlevels of the historic bookstore.

Ideoli’s Speculo ceiling mount provides a contemporary feel to the second and third floor retail space with another stylistic LED circular disc luminaire that is showcased in a modern matte silver finish. A series of the 36-inch disc LED luminaires are flush mounted on the drop ceiling to provide comfortable ambient lighting that illuminates the expansive selection of books on display. The 43W LED disc delivers 3500 lumens in 3000K to effectively illuminate the aisle-ways between each row of bookshelves.

Stairway Art

Among the renovations, The Coop has retained theiriconic photomuralalong the central spiral staircase displaying the history of Harvard and the founding of The Coop. In contrast, as visitors travel down to the lower level by means of a separate brand new staircase,they are greeted with a beautiful work of modern light art crafted by the artisans at Ideoli. The Shando Chandelieris a stem mounted showstoppingdecorative chandelier that can be seen from levels around the open stairwellas well as from the portico vitrine window through to The Coop’s exterior. The 30-inch chandelier features a frosted acrylic finish with a cascade of five cylindrical tubes of light that hang at staggered heights to create a waterfall of luminance. The Shando Chandelier creates a stunning feature that draws the eye to the nearby backlit “H” insignia of Harvard.

Highlighting Merchandise

The Coop is known for more than its books. Throughout the space you will find a variety of Harvard merchandise options including gifts, apparel, and school supplies. These frequently visited areas of retail merchandise required a lighting solution that could accommodate a variety of display and seasonal changes. The design team utilized a combination of Ideoli’s Linea LED linear luminaire and the cylindrical Cilindro LED downlight.

The pendant mount LINEA LED linear fixture can be found staggered in zig zag pattern on The Coop’s popular new lower levelin a matte white finish with an acrylic lens. This versatile fixture is available in 2, 4 and 6 ft lengths and can be combined to make continuous runs of seamless linear illumination. It is available in both 12W and 16W per foot and in downlight or uplight / downlight configurations with a variety of connector options.

To complement the linear fixture, the design team selected Ideoli’s Cilindro 5-inch cylinder. The Cilindro features a patent-pending technology that allows for field configurable mounting of the fixture in either pendant or surface mount. The Cilindro found within The Coop retail space are pendant mountin a black finish and deliver 1200 lumens in 3000K at 17W. The versatile downlightfeatures a 90+ CRI in a choice of 17W or 28W, a choice of three-color temperatures and is available in a black, white, or silver finish. Ideoli fixtures can be seen throughout the renovation of this historic building bringing a brightened and more modern look into the space, while still highlighting the traditional features.
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Photo Credit: Ideoli Group