Paul Rudolph Part 1: The Ghost of Larkin
Yale University in New Haven Connecticut is about to embark on a massive $125M renovation of its Iconic yet much maligned Art and Architecture Building. The building was designed by groundbreaking architect Paul Rudolph in the early 1960's, and completed in 1963.
The building is typical of Rudolph's work. It is composed of a complex interlocking weave of bold volumes and voids. It is essentially a seven story building but contains 37 level changes and a large atrium. It opened to worldwide praise making appearances on the covers of virtually every architectural journal. Current Yale Dean of Architecture, Robert A. M. Stern describes the building as the Bilbao of its era.
Despite the critical kudos the building was quickly reviled. Inside, students froze in winter and sweltered in summer, and its complex form made for many dark, hidden corners which were considered confusing and dangerous. In the late sixties the building suffered a fire of suspicious origin. Many conjectured that students had set the fire in an effort to rid themselves of the place. By the 1980's this building had been chopped up and rearranged to such an extent that few remembered or understood the original intent of the design. The building sank to a very low point becoming a poster child for everything wrong with modern architecture, and its future was very much in doubt.
Rudolph was a huge fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and knew quite well the work of that master architect in Buffalo. It is common knowledge and very clear that Buffalo's long lost Larkin building was a major influence on the Yale building design. Squint and you can almost see the Larkin Building sitting there in New Haven.
The Yale building is now approaching the age of the Larkin Building at the time of its destruction. 40 plus years is a danger point for buildings. The original luster has faded, new technology has taken hold and the whims of society have moved on. It seems to be a common scenario for society to loose appreciation for major artifacts of our cultural past only to regain that appreciation when a building such as this reaches its lowest point. Or, in the case of the Larkin Building we lose the building before its time comes again.
It is almost a certainty that the Larkin Building would be a treasured piece of Buffalo today if it had survived its low point. We need to keep this in mind anytime we contemplate removing a part of our irreplaceable urban heritage.
More on Rudolph and Buffalo in the near future.
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PaulBuffalo
Many buildings of this period have become maintenance nightmares and, although Yale has renovated a number of their important buildings on campus, this imposing structure is a challenge and it surely stands out in a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood of little stores, cafes, and restaurants. It will be interesting to see whether their renovations will finally make the building one that students want to use.
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300miles
reminds me of UB's Ellicott Complex.
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NBJOHN
That pic of the Larkin Building always amazes me.
Too bad we cannot see it in real life
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whynot
Keep squinting...
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Dan
Architects and design critics of the era LOVED Brutalist-style architecture, even though it was nearly universally panned by those outside of the profession. In fact, many architects still have a soft spot in their heart for Brutalism. Many buildings at UB North and even the Buffalo City Courthouse were critically acclaimed when construction was complete, believe it or not.
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PaulBuffalo
Well, we could add the Shoreline Apartments on Niagara Street to this collection, too. I'm not a fan of the Brutalist style because I don't think interior spaces were addressed well. The Whitney Museum on Madison Avenue in New York City is an almost windowless structure and most of the art does not receive the benefit of natural daylight.
Even though I'm not a fan, I hope that many of the buildings in this style can remain for future generations to appreciate.
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RaChaCha
PaulBuffalo - were you being intentionally ironic when you added Shoreline Apartments to your list--? Architect: Paul Rudolph.
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PaulBuffalo
RaChaCha, no I wasn't being ironic. Yes, Paul Rudolph was the architect here, too. The early 1970's Shoreline Apartments have been overlooked, in my opinion, as having architectural value. However, I remember it as having been a maintenance nightmare, too, as far as heating is concerned. That may have been corrected, though.
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malooga
OK, let's go over this one more time:
"loose" = not tight
"lose" = the opposite of win; to misplace; to forget.
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sonyactivision
I think Paul Rudolph was more stylist than engineer as an architect. That's the problem with many of his buildings: the styling got in the way of practical concerns. But those forms are well worth preserving at any cost. Brutalist architecture in the hands of a practicioner such as Rudolph is sculptural and very pleasing to the eye and he loved surprises and stylish feats such as impossibly thin, light stairs, and cantilevers. A house of his in Westport Connecticut has recently been demolished and it was a stunning example of his work. Anything by him in Buffalo needs to be cataloged and appreciated as the work of one of mid-century America's most curious modern architects.
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PaulBuffalo
For the folks who may know more about Paul Rudolph, are the Shoreline Apartments significant in a singular way among all his works? I ask for my own curiosity; but, I also ask since Buffalo doesn't seem to value Shoreline and I can imagine it as yet another structure that will easily meet the wrecking ball in a future generation.
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Balth
Lets not forget the Niagara Falls Public Library is a Rudolph building! Also, the Waterfront School #95 is a Rudolph building that was treated poorly in Phase II reconstruction by Kideney Architects.
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