Barn raising

It's not all Gothic. Yale's newest building was framed in wood and raised the old-fashioned way on September 20 by a crew of nearly 200 students, plus some staff, alumni, and community members. The 30- by 40-foot Lazarus Pavilion now stands next to Yale's organic vegetable garden, off Edwards Street, ready to house classes and workshops run by the Yale Sustainable Food Project. (The pavilion is named for donors Shelly and George Lazarus ’67.)

Julie Brown

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Master housewright Brendan Matthews (center, with a straw brim on his hard hat) owns the company that built the frame out of wood from Yale forests. He has directed more than 40 frame raisings and says this one went smoothly, except for one glitch. He had scheduled the work to start at 9:30 a.m. But it was a Saturday. “Around 10, I was standing there with my crew -- and no students,” he says. By the more campus-friendly hour of 10:30, work was under way.