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LETTERS z e
GOWUPA 4 3
A monthly review of eve nts an d ideas.
ARCHITECTURE ON CAM PUS 463
4 7321 025734607 ~aAu?Rudolph's elebrated Art & Archi-
I tecture Building after four years of
hard use-and misu se.
PRINCETON 5 4
The university ha s given up its atta ch-
ment to Gothic, with mixed results.
LBKE ERIE 62
An award-winn ing library is the lat est
embodiment of a personal design
philosophy. By Victor ChristJaner.
COLUMBIA 6 8
The "Acropolis of America" is expand-
ing, and woe unto those who live in
its path. By C. Richard Hatch.
DUQUESNE 78
Paul Schweikher's Student Union isone of two buildings that have
changed th e scale of an urban camp us.
BERKELEY 9 0
Architect-Planner Sirn Van der Ryn
and his associate, Murray Silverstein,
report on their study of how students
live and work in dorms.
BOOKS 76
John Jacobus' survey of mid-20th-cen-
tury architecture. Reviewed by Edgar
Kaufmann, Jr.
FOCUS 8 6
A monthly review of notable buildings.
TAKROUNA 9 8
An a ncien t Berber village as seen by
Myron Henry Goldfinger.
PREVIEW 114
New life for an old school.
THE ARCHITECTURAL FORUMV O ~ . 27 No. 1. July/Aug. issue.Published 10 ti ~a es year, combiningJan./Feh, and July/Aug. issues,by Urban America, Inc., 111W. 57 St.New York, N. Y. 10019.
Sent without charge to architectsregistered wi thin the U.S.A. Qualifiedpersons are invited to write theCirculation Manager on companyletterhead. Please give your principalstate of architectural registration,your title, an d the kind of work YOU do.Correspondence re garding service,change of address, etc., should be sentto the Circulation Manager.Subscription rate is $12 within theU.S.A. and possessions: Canada, $15;Elsewhere, $20 . College Rate f or studentsand facu lty members of U.S. accreditedschools of al-chi tecture, $6.Single copies, $1.60.Member of Business PublicationsAudit of Circulation, Inc.Controlled circulation postage paidat New York, N.Y.0 967 by Urb an America, Inc.All rights reserved.
J i : ' ' $ 1 /
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
The most recent addition to therising tide of urban literature iEc
Urban America's own magazine,City. We extend a very specialwelcome to the new bi-monthlyreview for veiy special reasons.
Fi rs t of all, because of it s pub -lication, no longer will we haveto explain tha t T H E ARCHITECTURAL FORUMs not the headquar-ters' voice of Urban America.City is . THE FORUMemains whatit has been since its acquisitionby Urban America, the magazine
about architecture and urban de-sign for architects and otherurban designers.
Secondly, we were sure thatwhen former FOR UM managingeditor, Don Canty, went to Wash-ington to direct Urban Amer*ica's Urban Information Center,he wouldn't forget that he wasprimarily a journalist. City, withCanty as its editor, proves wewere right. The current July issuepresents its wide variety of arti-cles on current urban issues in areadable format which, for illus-
trations, eschews the camera forbold art.
Our welcome is warm, too, be-cause City's masthead includesthe n ames of Louise Campbell,another one-time FORUM senioreditor, and Peter Bradford, ex-FOR UM rt staff mem ber and cur-rently a frequent cover designer.
As the official publication ofUrban America, its NonprofitHousing Center, its Business andDevelopment Center, its UrbanDesign Center, its Urban Infor-
mation Center, its Urban Policy
Center, City accepts no advertis-ing. For that reason, too, we wel-come it.
* * *
We ruefully admit that our con-test to identify the componentsof the May cover skyline at-tracted fewer contestants than thesomewhat more widely promotedLucky Buck games sponsored bythe gasoline station people. TOmake everything legal, however,me promise to announce the win-ner s nex t mo nth . --L.W.M.
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THE CHANGES
Wh en Pau l Ru d o lp h ' s Ar t &
Arch i tec tu r e Bu i ld in g a t Ya le
opened late in 1963, the fanfare
that mas specially composed for
the dedication was only the be-
g in n in g o f th e f an fa r e th a t r e -
so u n d ed th ro u g h th e a~~ch i tec -
tural wor ld .
Af ter the elaborate praise inthe magazines (FORUM,p r i l
'64)) canle some criticism. But
clidn' t the exhilaration of the
spatia l exper ience overr ide mun-
clane problems, it was a rgued.
Mom recent word fro111 New
Haveil suggested tliat the build-
ing-while st ill great-liiight Ile
something of a disastei- in prao-
tical teams. Charles Moore, Ru-
dolph 's rep lacement as chair i i ia i~
of the architecture depar tment,
looks at it this way: "It 's a I liag-
nificent building, ~vi tli fa ta lfla~vs," lie said recently, "wbicli
is nluch better t han a good bnild-
in g wi th 111inor flaws."
Intrigued, aiicl not malltiilg to
wait the ten-year miilinluili for
an official return visit, me re-
turilecl to the A & A Buildiilg
fo r a l ive-in and a speak-out .
Much lias changed about the
building, and much canilot be
changed. The most str iking
change has occurred on the floor
of the architecture set t lement
(opposite)-strikiilg, tliat is, to
those who reinember the careful
rows of carefully desigiied draft-
ing tables when the building
opened (below lef t) . Today i t is
a fnvelln, a spolltalleous shanty-
town that changes with the
years as new students br ing
their talents and neecls to this
unassigned design problem.
The s tructures are f l imsy 01%
solid, straightforward or whim-
sical, modest or grandiose. Last
year, a student built a two-stonyoffice for himself; next year may
see a totally new answer to the
special requirements of function
(a p lace to hang yo ur drawings,
as well as yo111. hat), of privacy
(a p lace to shut out neighbors) ,
and of ego ( a pIace to express
your own personali ty , perhaps
with a sense of competition, or
a surge of ter l~itor ial i ty , o r a
need fo r homeliness-or what-
ever makes us build as me do).
Another major transformatior
has taken place, but by inten
tion , a t the penthouse. Af ter i
number of v is i t ing d ignita~ies
had complained about elevatoi
noise intruding on the elegancc
of the gxest su ite (below cen~
t e r ) , it was proposed to ehangc
the are a i nto a coffeel~onse (be
low right) . This is so socoessfu,
as a meeting place th at at leas1
two professors now claim thcidea as their 01~~11,n d th e o p era
tion earns several thousand a
y ear f o r th e s tu d en t lo an fu n d
It provides alnlost the onlj
meeting place between students
of different departments, ancl an
ironic after-the-fact justif ication
for their being in the same build-
ing in the f ir s t p lace. The pre-
viously designated lonnge on the
exhibition floor has not worked
satisfactorily as a meeting place.
The w ays i n ~vli ich he build-
ing h a s -o r hasn 't-adapted tothe l i fe with in i t a re indeed in-
s t iuctive. But the s trong impact
the build ing makes on s tudents
-the involvenlent it demands,
the violence i t evokes, the irri-
tant and stinlulus it provides-
nl&e this bnilding an unusua l
o n e fo r ed u ca tio n. I t h as a
dimension today that it lacked
when it was neat and new. Then
it was only a three-dimensional
piece of theoretically habitable
sculpture. Today, it is lived-in,
talked about, h a t e d , m i t t e n o n ,
delighted in, with an involvement
that is perhaps the real success
of a builcling tha t also has m any
aspects of failure.
The build ing s t i l l s tands out
1s a place of distinction. Some
students cal l i t the Rucliberger ;
tnd one s tudent tel ls of the v is i-
.or driving by who asked if it
,was the Holiday Inn.
But ins ide, i t is unquestion-
~ b l y n e of th e mo s t s t imu lat in g
:nvironments for the s tudy of?nvironmenC. Whether this re-
nits mo re f ro m th e p eo p le o r
he build ing , no one can say . I t
s s imp ly ap p aren t th a t th e p eo -
)la here m e involved, connected,
elated-to the ir morlx, to each
) ther . I f the build ing has any-
hing to do with th is , the
~chievelnenl may well bala nce
~ n t he d ir t that can no longel*
le s~ v cp t n d er th e n o ~ v h ab by
lange carpets .
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The building at once seems slop-pier, more casual, than when the
carpets were new. (So me carpetshave been replaced by brown or
beige; Rudolph says he wouldstill choose the original color, butshould have chosen a better qual-ity.) It isn't so much a deteriora-
tion about the place---everythingseems older than its fo ur years-but a wearing down to a shabbi-ness beyond which it is unlikelyto deter iorate further .
The windows ase in an ad-vanced state of filth, not havingbeen cleaned since they were in-stalled. Window cleaning wouldrequire a scaffolding estimatedat $2,200, says the administra-tion, and they are not about tospend money for it. Actually,
says Rudolph, the intention wasto use a rope system over theparapets, but he concedes thatthe jogs in the building's ex-terior make this difficult. Brealr-age and replacement are no an-swers, either-one larg e replace-ment had to be lifted to anupper floor on the tops of two
elevator cabs, which luckily as-cended in tandem.
Exposed concrete walls that,four years ago, were fresh fromthe vertical folanboards are now
plastered with graffiti. It i s asif the existing wall surfaces wereunfinished, the way the scratchcoat of a plaster wall receivesvarious directions, artwork, com-ments. Bub in this case, themessages are the wall. finishes.
The relatively smooth sur-faces lef t by the vertical f o m -ing seem the most popular, al-though there are also shy graf-fiti occasionally penned in thevertical ribbing of the concrete
corduroy. Most popular placesare the usual ones--bathrooms,stair towers, elevator lobbies-plus a few unusual ones ( a de-rogatoly comment about the
building appears, for instance,under one armpit of the Eeo-nardo figvre). The messages arenot all verbal: the Minenva'seyes are "blunked out" lilre Lit tleOrphan Annie, and cigarettesare stuffed into the holes left by
the anchors of the formwork.
50
I
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But some things can't bechanged, and the list of com-plaints goes from the top of thebuilding to the bottom. (If theair conditioning had been in-stalled as planned, however, sev-eral complaints would disap-pear. The cost of installing it
now k estimated at $150,000.)Many complaints are by de-
partment, and are a function of
its special space and equipment.Painters, for instance, are onthe top two floors, in airless\vanens that seem to operate
largely as storage cubbyholes.Comp laints ar e basic-an over-lighted studio on the east ( it wasoriginally foil drawing, not forpainting) ; a l imitation on the
size of paintings (7 by 7 f t .o r 6 by 8 f t . is the largest
canvas that can f it into theelevator-anything larg er has tobe taken off its stretchers) ; heconstantly ciwnbling ceiling ofacoustical plaster that falls intofresh work ( a criticism commonthroughout the building).
The pa inte rs pre fe r to beaway from the building com-pletely; some are selected by lotfor the university-owned build-ing on Temple S treet, and somework at home. There is a move-
ment afoot to get an entirelyseparate building for all thepainters. Their space in the A& A Building, according to one
student, is typical of Pale's at-
titude towards its artists. "Theywant something for us, but don'tknow what. No artist could haveseen these plans." The a rt fac-ulty were involved, of course, inthe planning, bu t even they were
for the vehement re-action of the students.
Architects, on the two floors
just below, have other com-plaints. Drafting room noise is aproblem that the most elaboratefavella cannot change. One stu-dent solves it by plugging him-self (by the earphones) into hishi-fi;many o thers work a t home.Rudolph thrives on openness (hisNew Pork office i% fully open),and although he adm its that some
may not work best this way, hethinks that the net result is all
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Lighting has been a probleirin the drafting room. Students
remove the reflector bulbs (tc
reduce heat froin tliem, or sin1
ply to use then1 at home), bul
this lighting mas not satisfac.
toiy in any case, according to s
recent article in I l l z c~~ t i na t i ~g
Engilzeering. The original inten-
tion, says Rudolph, was never tc
rely solely on the reflectors atworlr areas.
The other large space, the ex-
hibition hall, is not popular1 Painters don't like to exhibit
here, citing "overpowering arch-
itecture," bad illumination, and
the difficulty of hanging work
against the ribbed malls. The
most successfu1 exhibitions have
been three-dimensional and
space-filling-one on banners,
another on ICiesler's sculpture.
The jury pit, too, has not
realized its potential-as a fluidspace where students could wan-
der in and out. The soundproof
ceiling makes it difficult to hear
jurors unless they are given to
excessive histrionics. There is
also conflict with the typing
noise from the administrative
floor above, which is open to
this floor. Large juries are now
held in the auditorium.
I n the basement, some of the
same criticism is raised. In the
graphic design quarters, lighting
(again by reflectors) was so in-adequate that a new fluosescent
strip mas installed down the
length of the low-ceilinged
studio. "We have a tremendous
advantage, thongh, with the
only opening windows in the
building," says a professor.
The printmaking studio has
little direct daylight, but to some
extent the situation has been im-
proved by painting the rough
concrete white, so as to gain the
full benefit of reflected daylight.
The lack of sufficient air re-mains a problem in a studio with
pungent materials.
But the sculptors, in the snb-
basement, are the true step-
children. Some 17' tons of ma-
terial were delivered to .their
studios in the first year, but
they only got a freight ele-
vator this spring. (It mas one
of the items cu t from the orig-
inal design to save money.) The
foundly has had such inadequate
ventilation that a blue haze
hangs over tlle area ~vllile t is
operating, malting it virtually
inlpossible to work here at the
saine time. (A foundry mas not
part of the original program.)
The present solution is an es-
haust fan in the open elevator.
Ceiling height for the sculp-
tors i s a f ar inore basic constric-
tion. Lucky are those who worknear the outsicle mall, able to
borrow height from the nlonitors
that go through to the next
floor. I t has been suggested that
the ceiling be relnoved between
beams in this area, adding an-
other 18 in. or so to the usable
height of the work area.
There are further criticisms :
Security p~oblen ls. "No one
foresaw the problenis of being
open 24 horns a day," says Dean
Gibson Danes, who came to his
office in the same year (1958)that Rudolph becanle chairnlan
of the architecture department.
The exhibition area and library
3honld have been separate froin
,theis facilities, Danes feels.
c Acoustical problems. Added
to those already mentioned (be-
tmeen open floors) aye those,
for instance, in the baseinent
~~~clitoriunlhere the inechanical
quipment and any loudly swear-
Ing student in an adjacent studio
are fully audible.
@ Privacy problems. Faculty of-ices, on the administrative level,
a e not ear-tight. The architec-
,ure chairman's office has only
3econ1e privake mith the addition
~f a door and the extension of
putitions to the ceiling.
Q Maintenance problems. Door-
mobs have fallen off. The bare
:oncrete of elevator lobbies has
~ e e n errazzoed.
Educational problems. Per-
laps the most serious shortcom-
ng on this long list is the fact
,hat the entire building essen-,idly represents one person's
~pproach . This has been criti-
:ized recently even by Nilcolaus
?evsner, who gave the laudatoiy
~dd res s t the building's dedica-
ion. The enthronement of the
my, the dearth of seminar
*ooms, every allocation and ar-
>angement of space amounts to
vhat one professor calls "a
eaching progam that has been
)onred in place."
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- they ar e par t of what hap-
pens to a building; lie Peels, aucl
are Illore real tllan a slick sur-
se, allJrone .face that remains pristine.
f a chance," s ag s one Despi te indignat ion, s tudents
a of the bui lding. Many may be Inore a t home here than
building full, inventive, in the llolllcs lvliere they greu\i
exciting., romalltio. ('It UP. ((YOU all do anyt hing to th e
the very fe w buildings building, it's inclestructible,"says one student as he pulls off
a handful of the ceiling. "I go
n~l looolt i t in his hands along the wal l with a hammer
in my hand ; and we s p ray mod-
els in the s ta i r tower." Maybe
. a b~ l i ld ing o r young peop le i s
tioll best mhen it becolnes lik e olcl
jiIst doesn't come off, clothes. This one is l ike an old
o,ny parts Of the build- jacket-still warm and wear-
of able , ba t with the but tons fa l l -
al intricacies," Olle ing off and the edges fraye d.The bui lding has an undeni-
able impact on the s tudents '
appreciation of archi tectur al re-
liscovel*ies, "I'm tired sponsibility, w h y , they aslr, mas
),ack agai llst it," the re SO little foresight conceill-
rc] s tudent . "But tha t 's ing s tudents ' needs? W hy sol i t t le a t tent ion to whether cargo
net t ing mould screen the sun?
And wha t happens when a bud-
g e t i s t i g h d m h a t g e t s c n t , a n d
h by wllom? ('There's somethin g
are lrolv people react, ~ v r o n g b o ut a man s ix f loors in
long as they react ." the a i r chipping away a t tha tconcrete," say s one of the arch i-
tecture professors. "But it isn't
fa i r to ois it io ize Rudolph fo r not
nlaking an exci t ing hui lding
,cecl to collf rollt it. that also works. Yale only asked
for an exciting building."
To sonie students, this atti-
a r e a n a t t e m p t t o tude is s hock ing . Pe t they re -
overpowering arohi- por t th a t vis i tors are equally
to carve o ut sonie shocked to find the building so
thers say no, th a t s t rongly resented, when i t mas
s tudents wil l bui ld so s t rongly pra ised in the press .
is pei.mitted, carv - This, in fac t, nlay be one of th e
snlallest and most building's lllajor lessons. Ther ea re few a rch i t ec tu re s tuden t s a t
Yale who aren ' t aware of the
need to take a second look at
lllany buildings in use, and the
s te n si ve g r af f it i? ~ o s - n ee d, i n m a n y c as es , f o r a n
defacement from has- architect to take a closer look
possibly this visually a t the ultiniate users of a build-ing. The building is emphatically
an educat ion, fo r s tudents in and
out of school, and in a time of
bland bui ldings and bland edu-
cat ion, perhaps this is uniquepra ise f o r a unique bui lding.
----ELLENERRYERKELEY
ca,lnn ab ou t the gb.affiti, "nO'oGRAPHS: "After" photography
by ROY Berkeley; "before" by Ezrak ~ , nd the crunibl ings st0ller ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ .