Bunshaft used his scholarship to travel through europe. Known for his glassandsteel curtain wall designs, bunshaft knew that large windows would be a risky. Yales beinecke rare book library a photo on flickriver. Chris history corner the beinecke rare book and manuscript. Designed by gordon bunshaft in 1963, it features translucent marble walls that protect the rare books from direct sunlight while still letting in natural light. Dec 2, 2014 gordon bunshaft beinecke rare book and manuscript library hic arquitectura. Dedicated to rare manuscripts and rare books, it was financed by the beinecke family and is one of the largest facilities in the. Yale university new haven us bunshafts design of the beinecke library is a. Beinecke rare book library gordon bunshaft som great. Paul weidlinger and gordon bunshaft from som were the engineer and architect in charge of the design of this beautiful building. Besides type, all the other notions described in this report have shown their contribution in the creation of the typology. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library docomomo. While we would like to think that louis skidmore, nathaniel owings, and john o.
Building development at yale university, connecticut by hbra architects. This rare book and manuscript library is one of the largest facilities of this kind in the world 86. It is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books and manuscripts. Yales beinecke rare book and manuscript library turns 50. The geometry, similarly, does not immediately hint at a deeper meaning for the modern beinecke. Nov 19, 2019 bunshaft s career was marked by shifts in material. Nov 5, 2017 gordon bunshaftsom, beinecke library rare book library. Bieneke rare book and manuscript library gordon bunshaft, som skidmore.
This unique design, very much in the modernist lineage but in contrast. Introduction the beinecke rare book and manuscript library is one of the worlds largest buildings devoted to rare books and manuscripts housing about 180,000 volumes in the central tower and over 1 million that are kept in the underground book stacks. One of my favorite buildings in ct is the stunning beinecke. Apr 06, 20 the beinecke rare book and manuscript library was an architectural incongruity amid the universitys traditional neoclassical and neogothic campus. Yales renovated beinecke library to reopen september 6. That means the interior of the building glows by day. Yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library is the largest building in the world dedicated to the containment and preservation of rare books, manuscripts, and documents. The building originally accommodated roughly 25 staff and a modest level of acquisition of rare material. The architect hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden. Yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library som. The long list of his notable buildings includes lever house in new york, the beinecke rare book and manuscript. Fuller construction company was the general contractor. Known for his glass andsteel curtain wall designs, bunshaft knew that large windows would be a ris. Bunshaft was named a partner in som in 1949, directing the new york office until his retirement in 1979.
Nov 14, 20 beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university, designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill. Jan 16, 2020 gordon bunshaft stands in front of the beinecke rare book library at yale university 1963. Gordon bunshaft 19091990 gordon bunshaft received his bachelors and masters degrees in architecture from the massachusetts institute of technology m. Aug 08, 2016 michael marsland exterior of the library prior to the renovation. Nov 9, 20 cigna connecticut general life insurance, beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Paul rudolph, the then dean of the yale school of architecture, decided to hold a competition between four firms for the privilege to design the beinecke library. Type has also influenced in its totality the design of the beinecke library. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library architectuul. Beinecke library s iconic building to close for renovation in may 2015.
Yales beinecke library restored 20160901 architectural. His addition to the albright knox art gallery in buffalo, new york 1961 featured a glassy black box floating over a stone podium, and for the beinecke rare book library at yale university 1963. Merrill were the key elements to many of these works, a certain face comes forward as a remarkable history maker from within som and that would be gordon bunshaft. The beinecke library contains yale universitys principal rare books and literary manuscripts and serves as a research center for students, faculty, and other scholars. See more ideas about architecture, gordon, rare books. Gordon bunshaft architectural drawings and papers, 1909. May 7, 2016 beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Looking at the beinecke rare book and manuscript library makes one. The building, of vermont marble and granite, bronze and glass, was designed by gordon bunshaft, of the firm of skidmore, owings and merrill. One of the worlds largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts. Oct 8, 2018 impressive buildings by louis kahn, im pei and eero saarinen are among sam lubells highlights of modernist architectural sites along the eastern seaboard.
Within the context, the administration building, where the board of the university is located, is the only building incorporated within the ensemble of the library. The beinecke library contains yale universitys principal rare books and literary manuscripts and serves as a research center for students, faculty, and other. Yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library is the largest. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university, designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill. It serves as a principal repository for early manuscripts and rare books, including a gutenberg bible. Gordon bunshaft, faia may 9, 1909 august 6, 1990, was an american architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the midtwentieth century. Beinecke library is one of those amazing nonhidden structures if you know how to stare at it. The beinecke library s robust collections are used to create new scholarship by researchers from around the world. Aug 01, 2017 paul rudolph, the then dean of the yale school of architecture, decided to hold a competition between four firms for the privilege to design the beinecke library.
Its collection of 500,000 rare books and more than 1 million volumes make it one of the worlds most important research facilities. Looking at the beinecke rare book and manuscript library makes one wonder if there is more to this modern library than meets the eye. This led to the idea of housing about 160,000 volumes on six levels within the 35 x 60foot glass shaft in the center of the building, resting the weight of most of the books on the slab at the buildings base rather than on intermediate floors, and providing a. Sgh has undertaken over ten projects at the library, which included rehabilitating the enclosure and structure systems and developing two. Gordon bunshaft architectural drawings and papers, 19091990.
Beinecke rare book and manuscript library, som gordon bunshaft. Courtesy manuscripts and archives, yale university library you couldnt invent a firm of more interest or appeal to organization theorists and historians of capitalism than som. Jul 29, 20 cloistered by a shell of stone, the 1963 beinecke rare book and manuscript library in yale, us, is one of the worlds foremost collections of rare manuscripts. Work began on the building in 1960 and was completed in 1963. Construction started in 1960 as a sixstory aboveground structure supported only by four big corner columns, following weidlinger and bunshaft design.
Yale university, beinecke rare book and manuscript library. The buildings design includes a sixstory glassenclosed tower of book. The building was designed by pritzker prizewinning architect gordon bunshaft of the firm of skidmore, owings, and merrill. The buildings design includes a sixstory glassenclosed tower of. Space was needed for about 800,000 books, exhibition areas, staff offices, and a reading room. Gordon bunshaft architectural drawings and papers, 19091990 bulk 19501979. Beinecke library by gordon bunshaft, new haven, connecticut. Som yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Completed in 1963, it is designed by gordon bunshaft of som. It is as close to a perfectly conceived and executed building as i have seen, certainly one of the greatest work of american architecture. Nov 25, 2016 beinecke library, yale university this remarkable jewelbox is the beinecke library for rare books on the campus of yale university. Beinecke rare book library by gordon bunshaft som architect, at new haven, connecticut, 1963, architecture in the great buildings online. Cloistered by a shell of stone, the 1963 beinecke rare book and manuscript library in yale, us, is one of the worlds.
It also reflects the wonderful collaboration between engineers and architects. Glass and steel structures of the 1950s, such as new yorks chase manhattan bank, gave way to revolutionary designs in concrete, such as the beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university and the doughnutshaped hirshhorn museum in washington, dc. Jun 19, 2014 beinecke library renovation, yale university building, usa architecture. See more ideas about library design, architecture, architecture design. Gordon bunshaft beinecke rare book and manuscript library.
The architect thought of the library as a treasure house of rare books whose presence ought to be emphasized. Bunshaft s career was marked by shifts in material. Jun 9, 2015 cloistered by a shell of stone, the 1963 beinecke rare book and manuscript library in yale, us, is one of the worlds foremost collections of rare manuscripts. A modernized beinecke library opens next month architect. The program could have been satisfied by a onestory building above ground to be used for exhibitions, reading rooms, and offices, with the books stored underground, but the architect thought of the library as a treasure house of rare books whose. Yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library designed by gordon bunshaft. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library was an architectural incongruity amid the universitys traditional neoclassical and neogothic campus. In summarizing the entire design of the beinecke rare book and. Glass and steel structures of the 1950s, such as new yorks chase manhattan bank, gave way to revolutionary designs in concrete, such as the beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university and the doughnutshaped hirshhorn museum in. Beinecke library, yale university this remarkable jewelbox is the beinecke library for rare books on the campus of yale university. Among bunshaft s other major projects are the albrightknox art gallery in buffalo, new york 1962, the beinecke rare book library at yale university 1963, incorporating a noguchi environment, the lyndon baines johnson library in austin, texas 1971, and acclaimed skyscrapers such as one chase manhattan plaza. Jun 27, 20 the beinecke rare book and manuscript library brbl at yale university was a 1963 gift of the beinecke family.
The purpose of the building is to serve as a research center for students. One of the architects he invited to participate was gordon bunshaft of skidmore. You cant spell som without gordon bunshaft metropolis. Built for yale university and completed in 1963, the rare book library and archive was designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill. Its rectangular volume is enclosed in sheets of marble, thin enough at. Designed by pritzker prize winning architect gordon bunshaft, yales beinecke rare book and manuscript library holds the rather esoteric title of the worlds largest building dedicated to the preservation of rare books and manuscripts. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library youtube. Apr 12, 2019 image 10 of 15 from gallery of ad classics. One of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, the library can accommodate 180,000 volumes in the central tower and more than 600,000. Designed by gordon bunshaft of the architecture firm skidmore, owings.
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