Harvard College: Known for Colorful Chairs

Harvard College: Known for Colorful Chairs. A Media Matters @ WFHS Post.

I bet you didn’t know that Harvard isn’t, in fact, known for its prestigious academics or its low acceptance rate or its historical value. No, it’s known for its colorful chairs.

Well, not really. I actually had no idea about these chairs until a few weeks ago. I was (as mentioned in a previous post) in Boston to visit schools and had an extra day and decided to take the Red Line to Cambridge and tour Harvard. Well, why not?

khmacomber on Instagram. Harvard College: Known for Colorful Chairs. A Media Matters @ WFHS Post.

What struck me was not the beautiful buildings. Not the friendly atmosphere, not the pouring rain (it really was pouring), not the absolutely wonderful everything, but the colorful chairs scattered absolutely everywhere.

Really. They’re everywhere. Scattered about Harvard Yard as if someone had a really big, really bright cook out and no one bothered to remove their chairs.

Harvard College: Known for Colorful Chairs. A Media Matters @ WFHS Post.

Not exactly what you’d expect from the country’s oldest university. But it added to the charm, to the beautifully unexpected amicable atmosphere, I suppose. And that was the intention!

Late at night on September 30 (or early in the morning October 1), after my day at Harvard. I couldn’t sleep. The question of the chairs plagued my mind. I simply could not rest until I knew the answer. So, as any young scholar would, I googled it. This article, The Mind Behind the Chairs, gave me the answer.

The chairs were installed (or, rather, haphazardly placed) in 2009 by Michael R. Van Valkenburgh – Graduate School of Design Professor and head of MVVA – as an attempt to increase the feeling of “friendliness” on the yard as well as to introduce a new social space for Harvard students.

And, I have to say, the friendliness aspect was a huge success. Although everyone I encountered at Harvard was incredibly warm and welcoming, the chairs were the subconscious icing on the cake. Who could be intimidated by such lovely chairs? Not me, certainly.

Colorful chairs: Harvard’s true legacy.