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2 reviews in English

  • Review from S N.

    Photo of S N.
    • 490 friends
    • 566 reviews

    Brooklyn, NY

    5.0 star rating
    3/28/2010 4 photos 3 Check-ins Here

    Listen to Tyler C.

    A few points of addition:

    --There is now the Loria Center attached to the A&A.  Whatever else is said about this building, it has a Willoughby's Coffee at retail level now, and I like that it brings in a mix of people.

    --The Rudolph building was restored in 2008 to something more closely resembling its original, pre-fire-damaged design intentions. But it is updated to accommodate things like ADA access to all the levels,  model/furniture fabrication facilities with good ventilation, and temperature control. The renovation is excellent. If you saw the interior in, say, 1975-2007, and didn't like it that much, come back. It has changed substantially for the better. Especially the auditorium and stairwells!!!  

    --Don't forget about the Architecture gallery that is open to the public during business hours on Mondays-Fridays (maybe on Weekends too, I don't remember.)  It's up on the 2nd floor and there are always banners on the outside of the building with the title of the current show. Because it isn't easily visible from the street, too few New Haven residents know about this gallery and no one knows they are invited in to check it out! So, come!!! The shows are usually quite good and worth seeing. Say hi to the friendly security guards; they are especially cool, so DON'T bring your coffee because liquids stress out art guards!!!

    --In addition to the main gallery, there are mini-exhibitions of student work in the basement near the fabrication labs, and in the 3rd floor administrative area. These are accessible to the public 9-5, M-F only.  They're like the speakeasy of art shows; you might feel like you aren't supposed to be wandering through. But it's ok. After all, why else would they put up exhibits unless they wanted viewers?

    --The public is also allowed in to the free lectures that happen on most Monday and Thursday nights during the academic year. It's first come first serve for seating, and there's an overflow space where the lectures are broadcast on video in case Hastings Hall gets overcrowded. There are some symposia over weekends and some of these require advance registration, but rarely (if ever - I can't think of one) is there a fee to attend.

    It may look formidable and opaque. But don't let that deter you. There's a lot going on in here for students, faculty, and the general public alike.

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  • Review from Tyler C.

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    • 88 friends
    • 129 reviews

    Los Angeles, CA

    5.0 star rating
    12/28/2007

    Rounding out the triumvirate of architectural works on the intersection of Chapel and York Sts in New Haven, this is probably one of the most controversial buildings of Paul Rudolph's career.   Considered a landmark of design - in a way, a gesture of defiance and a rejection of gropius and van der rohe's focus on lightness, thin and airy structures - the A&A is one of the main examples of what has been dubbed a Brutalist style - thick, massive, ridged abrasive concrete columns define monolithic, overpowering vertical planes, amongst which are a multitude of horizontal levels - apparently, legends speak of 36 levels in all, creating an intricate network of interlocking interior spaces.   (nyt did a useful lay piece on Rudolph in october: http://www.nytimes.com...)

    The building, because of its strong appearance, is naturally polarizing in opinion - it has drawn both lavish praise and savage criticism towards Rudolph, a landmark figure in modernism and post modernist architecture, and who was responsible for building the Yale School of Architecture into one of the late 20th century's main design institutions.   Students have tried to burn it down, and various renovations over its 40 year history have radically altered its interior layout.   Its current renovation is slated to restore some of Rudolph's original plans (for better or worse).  

    It can be said that the core of architecture is how humans delineate the space around them, and the way they define that space.   Whether or not the A&A is willing to agree with your aesthetics, it commands its space with a majestic and monumental gesture.

    Listed in: Architecture List

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