School Notes: School of Architecture
January/February 2008

A&A Building renamed for designer

The Art & Architecture Building, currently undergoing a major renovation, will be renamed the Rudolph Building in honor of Paul Rudolph, the building's designer and architect and former chair of the Department of Architecture. Opened in 1963, the building is considered a masterpiece of modern architecture for its virtuosic use of the elements of mass, space, and light. Charles Gwathmey, of Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, is overseeing the renovation. Plans call for a mix of literal renovation, interpretive renovation, and sensitive intervention in order to restore the building to its original intention, and will introduce state-of-the-art technology, air conditioning, and LEED standards of energy efficiency. Restoration is scheduled for completion this year.

Exhibit focuses on sustainable design

A display of sustainable design projects features the collaborative work of two German firms, Behnisch Architekten and Transsolar ClimateEngineering, and illustrates ecological design strategies driven by considerations of temperature, air, sound, and human scale. It also focuses on the relationships between human beings and their immediate environment, and the way that sustainable design can support those relationships. Principals of both firms are affiliated with the Yale School of Architecture: Stefan Behnisch is a visiting professor, and Thomas Auer of Transsolar is a lecturer. Dean Robert A. M. Stern wrote in the preface to the exhibit booklet, "Their joint projects demonstrate that artistically provocative and technically adventurous buildings can be realized without sacrifice to the comfort of the users." The exhibit is on view at the school's gallery through February 1.