A case study from the perspective of architecture of the Architecture Building at Yale University. Performed as part of the architectural education campus design project in the year three of the B. Architecture course.

1. Yale Art + Architecture Building, New Haven, Connecticut
Architect : Paul Rudolph Presented By:
Charu Kumari
Vikram Bengani
Year Three
B. Architecture
School Of Planning & Architecture
New Delhi

2. Disclaimer
This is not an academic paper.
This is a case study performed as part of a campus design
project.
The authenticity of the data/information cannot be guaranteed
with certainty. However, the information is fairly accurate and
has been collected from the internet while spatial analysis has
been performed by the authors. The various sources have been
cited in the ‘Bibliography’ page.
This presentation is a condensed version of the author’s
learnings and all the information available on the internet.

3. Paul Rudolph
In June of 1957, it was announced that he had accepted the chairmanship of the Department of Architecture at Yale
University. During his years at Yale he began receiving commissions for monumental structures from throughout the
Northeast including the Art and Architecture Building at Yale, the Government Services Centre in Boston and the SMTI /
UMass Dartmouth campus. By this time he had adopted a distinctive style, mostly in concrete, that drew from many
sources including Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier as well as his own prodigious imagination.
October 23, 1918 – August 8, 1997
Architectural Style & Design Approach
One of the earliest known examples of Brutalist architecture in
America is Paul Rudolph's Yale Art and Architecture Building in New
Haven, Connecticut, an imposing, fortress-like building that
juxtaposes masses of textured concrete with layers of steel-framed
glazing.
Brutalism historically frequently used to build educational building,
high rise housing and shopping malls
Completed in 1963, the building is formed of intersecting
volumes of bush-hammered concrete. Smooth concrete and
glass horizontal elements are supported by a sequence of
towers that protrude above the roof in a series of turrets.
Its powerful forms, textured surfaces, complex spaces, sensitive urban presence,
and many allusions to the past demonstrated how to recover the things that
Rudolph said the debased functionalism of the 1950s and the International Style
had 'brushed aside', namely monumentality, urbanism, symbolism, and
decoration. Massive piers of concrete rise. Projections are over-emphasised
throughout. Heavy slabs are crossed by thin slabs. Spaces inside cross
too and offer sequences of most dramatic effects by unexpected vistas
inside the building and even out of it

4. LOCATION- 180 York Street, New Haven, CT 06511, United States
CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
YALE SCHOOL OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE
COORDINATES- 41.3123° N, 72.9240° W
CLIMATE- HUMID CONTINENTAL CLIMATE, WITH COLD WINTERS AND HOT SUMMERS.
SUMMERS- HIGH- 82F TO 77F, 66F TO 60F
WINTERS- HIGH- 42F TO 37F, LOW- 28F TO 23F
PRECIPITATION- The annual average precipitation at New Haven is 52.73 Inches. Rainfall in is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. The
wettest month of the year is May with an average rainfall of 4.70 Inches.
LANDSCAPE- Yale’s semi- urbanized campus covers over 1,100 acres of maintained and natural landscapes that range from college courtyards,
quadrangles, and designated garden areas to sports fields, a golf course, and a nature preserve.
(COAST OF ATLANTIC OCEAN)

5. YALE ART AND ARCHITECTURE BUILDING
YALE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

6. YALE ART AND ARCHITECTURE BUILDING
CORE CAMPUS
Yale’s campus is divided into eight distinct and
interrelated planning precincts:
1. Core Campus
2. Broadway/Tower Parkway
3. Hillhouse
4. Science Hill
5. Upper Prospect
6. Medical Center
7. Athletic Fields
8. West Campus

7. Immediate Context
YALE BUILDINGS
YALE ART AND ARCHITECTURE BUILDING
GARDEN
ROADS
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
“Although Rudolph’s design had its defenders,
many saw the building’s hulking forms and rough
textures as abrasive. Since its completion, the
iconic building has dominated the downtown
commercial district over which it presides”
Yale Art Gallery (Louis Kahn ) on the
opposite side across the road.
Public café on the
extension building on
the ground floor
Building around the corner of the
street at the L-Junction

8. Climatic Conditions [New Haven, Connecticut]
TEMPERATURE- Over the course of a year, the temperature
typically varies from -4°C to 28°C and is rarely below -12°C or above
31°C.
SUN- The length of the day varies significantly over the course of the year. The shortest day is December 21 with 9:11 hours of daylight; the
longest day is June 20 with 15:09 hours of daylight.
CLOUDS- The median cloud cover ranges from 49% (partly cloudy) to
70% (partly cloudy). The sky is cloudiest on April 27 and clearest on
August 9. The clearer part of the year begins around June 18. The
cloudier part of the year begins around December 7.
PRECIPITATION- The probability that precipitation will be observed at this location varies throughout the year. Precipitation is most likely
around February 10, occurring in 45% of days. Precipitation is least likely around September 11, occurring in 34% of days.

9. SNOW- The likelihood of snow falling is highest around February 1, occurring in 24% of days. The season in which it is relatively likely for snow to
fall spans from November 26 to April 7.
HUMIDITY- The relative humidity typically ranges from 64% (mildly humid) to 96% (very humid) over the course of the year, rarely
dropping below 26% (dry) and reaching as high as 100% (very humid).
The air is driest around April 15, at which time the relative humidity drops below 100% (very humid) three days out of four; it is most
humid around July 24, exceeding 93% (very humid) three days out of four.
WIND- Over the course of the year typical wind speeds vary from 0 m/s to 7 m/s (calm to moderate breeze), rarely exceeding 10 m/s (fresh
breeze).
The highest average wind speed of 4 m/s (gentle breeze) occurs around March 5, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 7 m/s
(moderate breeze).
The lowest average wind speed of 3 m/s (light breeze) occurs around July 24, at which time the average daily maximum wind speed is 6 m/s
(moderate breeze).

10. Topography & Landscape
The original plan of New Haven—the Nine Square Plan of 1641—gave the City a clear grid organization. Set on a plain and surrounded by two
rivers, the coastline and the rock ridges, the City’s early growth established a powerful relationship between town and natural setting. The two
prominent landmarks—East Rock and West Rock—led to a northeast-southwest orientation of the City grid. Similarly, Prospect Hill abuts the
Nine Squares and greatly influences the layout of the City to the north of Downtown. The historic post roads, which follow topography and
natural stream crossings, radiate outward from the town center and shape the surrounding neighbourhoods. These natural features helped
shape the City of New Haven and the layout of the campus within the City.
One University—three Related Campuses
Diagram Of Existing Yale And
Related New Haven Open Space

11. Context
NEIGHBORHOODS- The neighbourhoods of New Haven were shaped by the development of residential areas, and accompanying commerce and
manufacturing, which grew in roughly concentric rings moving outward from the Nine-Square core.
PARKS AND OPEN SPACE- Another telling diagram is that of the park system of the City— a
prominent ring of open spaces at the perimeter converging on the New Haven Green at its
center. At the regional scale, Yale Athletic Fields is part of the ring of parks and natural
features at the City’s edge.
While the New Haven Green is the symbolic center of the park network, Yale’s many
courtyards, quadrangles and walkways provide an intricate open space resource.
A NETWORK OF PARKS AND OPEN SPACES ENCIRCLES THE CITY.
FOUR DOWNTOWN Streets- Four Downtown
streets help define both Yale and the City:
1.Chapel Street- considered by many to be
the “Main Street” of New Haven, is shared by
the University and the City
2.Elm Street- A majority of campus facilities
lie within a block of this north-south corridor.
3.College Street- substantial barrier between
Old Campus and Cross Campus
4.Church Street- New Haven’s most civic
street with its concentration of public,
government and office buildings.
THE FOUR SIGNATURE DOWNTOWN STREETS:
COLLEGE, CHURCH, ELM AND CHAPEL

12. Rudolph envisioned the building as a teaching tool, peppering his
Modernist castle with fragments of history: plaster casts of Assyrian
reliefs and Parthenon friezes; Le Corbusier’s Modular measure; original
Louis Sullivan gates; and locally salvaged Ionic capitals. Incorporated
with remarkable self-confidence despite the contemporary sway of
Bauhaus ahistoricism, many of these items have been preserved or
restored.
“External forces dictated that
this building turn the corner and
relate to the modern building
opposite as well as suggest that
it belongs to Yale University. The
internal forces demanded an
environment suitable for ever
varying activities which will be
given form and coherence by the
defined spaces within. As the
years go by, it is hoped other
interests and activities will take
place within the spaces, but the
space itself will remain.” - Paul
Rudolph. The Architecture of
Paul Rudolph. New York: Praeger
Publishers, 1970. p120.
His spatial theatricality reached its climax in the building's heart, the
two-story drafting room, presided over by a marble Roman statue of the
goddess Minerva.
Cultural Aspects
Further thumbing his nose at
the ahistorical inclinations of
the Bauhaus, Rudolph playfully
decorated the A&A with bits
and pieces of history --
Assyrian reliefs in the
stairwells, Ionic capitals
perched on metal poles in the
lecture hall.

13. DESIGN
PAINTING
EXHIBITION AND LIBRARY
SCULPTURING
GRAPHICS AND DRAWING

14. Terraced Levels, An Open Plan Core And Plays On Light And Shadow – Although
Externally It Features The Raw Concrete Of Brutalist Architecture.
A A’
B
B’
SECTION AA’
SECTION BB’
Thirty-seven changes of level accommodate functional and circulation
areas, and since walls are de-emphasized these levels are defined
principally by floor and ceiling planes

15. MECHANICAL SERVICES
CIRCULATION SPACE
ELEVATORS
STAIRCASE
MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE BUILDING TO THE FIRST FLOOR
ENTRANCE TO THE PUBLIC CAFE
PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT
MOVEMENT FOR SERVICES
EXTERNAL
EXIT
STARICASE
UNLOADING AND LOADING DOCK
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
FIRST FLOOR PLAN

16. SECOND FLOOR PLAN
THIRD FLOOR PLAN
MECHANICAL SERVICES
CIRCULATION SPACE
ELEVATORS
STAIRCASE
PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT
MOVEMENT FOR SERVICES

17. FOURTH FLOOR PLAN
FIFTH FLOOR PLAN
ELEVATORS
CIRCULATION SPACE
STAIRCASE
MECHANICAL SERVICES
PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT

18. SIXTH FLOOR PLAN
SEVENTH FLOOR PLAN
ELEVATORS
CIRCULATION SPACE
STAIRCASE
MECHANICAL SERVICES
PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT
MOVEMENT FOR SERVICES

19. BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN
SECOND BASEMENT FLOOR PLAN
MECHANICAL SERVICES
CIRCULATION SPACE
ELEVATORS
STAIRCASE
PEDESTRIAN MOVEMENT
MOVEMENT FOR SERVICES
HASTINGS HALL

20. Pre - 2008 Renovation Scenario
• series of unsympathetic renovations, which split and reconfigured its soaring double-height drafting room and obstructed light and views.
• The external facade was scarred and barely recognizable after Rudolph’s vast fenestrations were filled in with double-glazed windows
that were disrespectful of the original geometries.
• Interior volumes lost their definition not only through unwelcome intrusions and divisions but, more importantly, by removal of the
ceiling planes and the signature linear lighting system
For the project team in 2006, the task was imposing: restore a controversial, commanding piece of American architectural heritage while
introducing new infrastructure and sustainability measures. To honour the Modernist cult figure Rudolph had become after he designed this
monument to the architecture department that defined them
A large fire on the night of June 14, 1969 caused extensive damage. Some
have claimed that the fire was the result of arson committed by a
disgruntled student, but this charge has remained unproven.
As the National Trust for
Historic Preservation has
argued,
“the greenest
building is the
one that already
exists”
Applying today’s design
and energy standards to
existing buildings
without compromising
the original project
vision.

21. Renovating the old Architecture building
& the new Loria Art Center
• Though the Loria interior pales beside the
architecture school’s spatial invention, Gwathmey,
following Rudolph’s cues, wisely retains an internal
courtlike separation between the two structures,
enriched by constant views back to the A&A. A
new, skylit reading room, extending the original
library across the ground floor, connects the two
wings, forming a visually, but not physically,
accessible courtyard.
• Restoring Rudolph's original plan, removing the
levels added in its post-fire reconstruction, inserting
historically accurate glazing and restoring the
concrete work. Rudolph’s orange and grey colour
scheme was honoured with the refitting of a
vibrant orange carpet that runs throughout, and
new furnishings.
• The design results from the integration of
programmatic, structural and mechanical needs. It
includes the restoration of exterior walls; the
installation of historically correct windows; and
upgrades to all building facilities including the
exhibition gallery, jury and studio spaces; study
areas; and administrative and faculty offices. It also
introduces new lighting and furnishings throughout
and brings the structure into compliance with
current building and fire code regulations.
Double Height Spaces creating a
visual connection between
adjascent functions.

22. Design Approach
Interiors as grey [dull/neutral] concrete vs.
earthy orange [bright and exciting] Carpets
and furniture
Natural light bounces on the carpet and
illuminates the entire space as warm
interiors imprinting warth on the lifeless
concrete
Meeting current disability friendly
requirements by the codes was a difficult
task. The original plan had 37 level on 9
floors rendring incorporation disability
access automatic
The 2008 renovation restored the original
linear lighting system wjich beautifully
juxtaposed into the vertical concrete
texture
Like every brutalist buildings, this one
retains all the joints and holes caused by
the casting of concrete in place. Rudolph
utilised this as an opportunity to create
texture.

23. Structural System
• Internally the building is organized around a
central core space defined by four large
concrete slab columns that, similar to the
external towers, are hollow to accommodate
mechanical services.
• Cast-in-Place Concrete [RCC]
• Bush Hammered Finish to the face of the
exposed concrete
Hollow RCC Columns
RCC Shear walls
Gwathmey
Siegel’s Addition -
History of Art
Building
Axis
Original Yale Art + Architecture Building
Cross-Courtyard Axis Plan By Paul Rudolph
Section showing hollow columns used as service and storage area

24. Building Construction
• The strong vertical striations of the corduroy-textured surfaces are obtained by
pouring concrete into vertically-ribbed wood forms, that are then stripped away,
and concrete edges hand-hammered to expose the aggregate. it controls staining
and minimizes the effect of discoloration inherent in concrete.
• To reproduce the original surface texture, 2 + 1/4-inch-wide tongue-and- groove red
oak flooring planks, unfinished and unsanded, were used for the formwork.

25. The 114,000 sf Brutalist building, which
is constructed of cast-in-place concrete,
has a total of 37 different levels on nine
floors, two below grade, and is a
cornerstone of Yale’s vibrant arts
campus.
Completed in 1963, the building is
formed of intersecting volumes of
bush-hammered concrete. Smooth
concrete and glass horizontal
elements are supported by a
sequence of towers that protrude
above the roof in a series of turrets.
Massive piers of concrete
rise. Projections are over-
emphasised throughout.
Heavy slabs are crossed
by thin slabs. Spaces
inside cross too and offer
sequences of most
dramatic effects by
unexpected vistas inside
the building and even out
of it,"
Slabs of ribbed concrete run in
vertical sections on the interior and
exterior of the 11,000-square-
metre building.
Inside, the complex floor plan is made up of 37 terraced levels spaced
across seven main storeys and two basement floors. Each level overlooks
a central atrium that features a sunken pit and is topped by a series of
skylights, while narrow concrete walkways connect the spaces on either
side of the well.
The main entrance is set back from the street, accessed through a chute
and stairwell between two concrete columns.
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM

26. Mechanicals
Electricals
Services
Workshops
Main Hall
Woodshop
Digital Media
Noisy & Private Areas

27. Entry Through
Staircases & Elevator
Use of Sky lights to
light interior reading
room space.
Drawing Studio
Double height
Hasting’s Hall
Classrooms
Lecture Room
Offices
Storage for the
above functions
Relatively Queiter & Semi Private Areas

28. Back Entry
Library
Department Offices
Aministration
Public Café
Storage & Teraching
Labs
Quiet zone near
Library, Noisier Zone
near the office half
Quiet & Public Areas

29. Back Entry
Public Zone
Thwo Storeyed
Exhibition Space &
related prefunctions
Seminar Rooms
Conference Rooms
Lecture Halls
Unhindered entry
from the Road
outside
Noisy & Public Areas

30. High Crowd Density
Mass student
gathereing
Departmental &
Faculty rooms
Seminar room
Lecture room
Interlocking planes
emphasising
solid/Void
Relationship
Administrative
offices on mezzanine
Overlooking
exhibition space
Access from 2nd and
4th floor via Elevator
or staircase
Quiet & Semi-Private Areas

31. 4 Studios
Terrace to sketch&
Hangout space
Threshold achieved
by changing levels
Green roof
Natural lighting for
all studios NSEW
Common Double
height Jury Space
Print + Laser Cutiing
Room
Quiet & Private Areas Jury space remained
delineated through a
change in flooring
material.

34. Painting and graphic art studios are on the top
two levels, with an open terrace for sketching.

35. Finally, there is a penthouse apartment for guest critics, that also
has its own terrace

36. Façade system
The 2008 restoration specified vast glass sheets developed to reduce heat
gain and energy consumption. After mock-ups were evaluated for
aesthetics and performance. The project team selected a glazing product
that provided suitable insulating properties, low-emissivity (low-e), and
glare reduction, while reproducing, as closely as possible, the look of the
original windows. Fabricated by Viracon, the 8-by-12-foot panels were
some of the largest single sheets of insulating glass ever made in the
United States.
Zinc + Limestone [Gwathemey]
Exposed Concrete [Rudolph]
Aluminium + Glass [Gwathemey]
Reinforcing Integration and
articulation of structure.
This Monumentality had been lost in the early 1950s ‘due to the debased
functionalism’ as quoted by Rudolph himself. However this Shear Honest Brutalism era
building achieves balance by using large Fenestration covered with glass. Façade is
divide furthermore by vertical columns suplimented with the vertical hammered
textured concrete and Beams in the horizontal direction. The same principle develops
inside as interlocking vertical and horizontal planes,
Entry Between two massive
hollow columns resembling
turrents to a fortress making
this structure monumental

37. Building Services
• The A&A’s notorious lack of climate control, or even airflow, has been tackled with modern mechanical systems, largely
housed in the addition, and thermally efficient windows. Historically accurate but inefficient elements, such as oversized glazing or
low-insulating concrete walls, were offset by innovations in low-e insulating glass units, high-efficiency HVAC systems and controls,
daylighting and occupancy sensors, air handling, storm-water management, non-potable water reuse systems were deployed.
• Air-handling units in the lecture hall and classrooms are equipped with enthalpy heat exchangers, which salvage energy from
returned building air and transfer it to incoming fresh air. To respond dynamically to building usage, Aircuity, an air-quality system,
monitors carbon dioxide levels and reduces ventilation rates when rooms are unoccupied.
• Water-saving fixtures, Old staircase modified to be storage room
• To support the local economy, the project team utilized local labor and materials wherever possible.
• The original building did not employ any sprinklers. Fire sprinklers with exposed pipes and sprinkler heads were added over the last
20 years, contributing to the overall run-down look of the building. As part of the 2008 work, a new sprinkler system, which
employed wall sprinklers to create fire separations between spaces, was added. With care- fully selected, discreet locations for
the piping, the system brought the building into full compatibility with current fire codes.
Stacked Staircase
Void In The Middle
providing Light wells
& sky lighting for
basement floors
Second
Basement where
all mechanical
room & services
are located
Lighting control
All inside fixtures are positioned to shine toward the building interior,
rather than out through windows. Lighting power densities are kept at
low levels to minimize light pollution, while maintaining the look of the
historic Rudolph lamps with a new, more energy-efficient fixture.
Custom fixtures with metal halide lamps replicated the
appearance of the original incandescent lights,
consume only 39 watts, rather than 150. Aluminum
reflective paint, vernal lenses, and prismatic lamps
result in a scattered-light
Between the four central piers two skylights
rise as giant clerestories, intensifying natural
light in the center of the space that receives
it on all four sides through peripheral glazing

38. Visual Quality
Restrained use of lively colours— mainly orange—and
cleverly built-in furnishings enhance the architecture,
which is intended 'to excite and challenge the occupants,'
says Rudolph
The orange works remarkably well in softening the
Brutalist architecture and in reinforcing the importance of
these spaces of presentation
Carefully placed History of art building
against the A+A building results in no
hindrance to the views from the
architectural sections of the building
which start from the fourth floor, also
permitting usable north light.
"Rudolph has been criticized for the serious functional shortcomings of the
building: that he put the areas he cared least about in the basement; that
the painters are very disturbed by south light; that the sculptors are in the
low-ceiling 'caves'; that the best spaces are reserved for architectural
activity. Functionally, Rudolph's building is a studied, politically
architectural statement. Architecturally, it tends to extened beyond its
own urban context. It cleverly establishes a general urban scale and a
particular internal scale, both compatibly and expressively related.“
- Paul Heyer, Architects on Architecture: New Directions in America.
p300-301.

39. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/28/arts/design/28yale.html?_r=0
https://weatherspark.com/averages/30535/New-Haven-Connecticut-United-States
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/09/26/yale-art-and-architecture-building-paul-rudolph-brutalism/
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Art_and_Arch_Building.html
https://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/articles/2241?page=2
http://www.world-architects.com/pages/insight/spaces-for-learning
http://www.buildings.com/article-details/articleid/9990/title/yale-university-s-intelligent-design.aspx
http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Art_and_Arch_Building.html
http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/archives/0902yale-1.asp
http://www.dezeen.com/2014/09/26/yale-art-and-architecture-building-paul-rudolph-brutalism/
Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects
Sustainable Restoration of Yale University’s Art + Architecture Building, RUSSELL M. SANDERS et All
Bibliography