Gordon bunshaft stands in front of the beinecke rare book library at yale university 1963. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library was an architectural incongruity amid the universitys traditional neoclassical and neogothic campus. The beinecke library contains yale universitys principal rare books and literary manuscripts and serves as a research center for students, faculty, and other scholars. Beinecke library is one of those amazing nonhidden structuresif you know how to stare at it. We have achieved a comfortable environment in which scholars may work.
The long list of his notable buildings includes lever house in new york, the beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university, the hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden in washington, d. A stern figure and a loyal advocate of the international style, bunshaft spent the majority of his career as partner and lead designer for som, who have referred to him as a titan of industry, a decisive army general, an architectural john wayne. The exterior of the steel is clad in granite while the interior frame is clad in precast stone and granite. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library case study by david leitman location. Babb and brothers and yale alumni edwin and frederick beinecke began discussions about construction of a new space to house yales growing collection of rare books, which were then located in sterling memorial library. Paul weidlinger and gordon bunshaft from som were the engineer and architect in charge of the design of this beautiful building. That means the interior of the building glows by day. The beinecke library contains yale universitys principal rare books and literary manuscripts and serves as a research center for students, faculty, and other. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library new haven. Gordon bunshaft outside the beinecke rare book library. It was designed by soms gordon bunshaft and is located in new. 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.
This university bears a strong modern design and highly functional appearance, which i really like. Lever house and more from gordon bunshafts som portfolio. The exterior skin is composed of thin marble panels that allow light to show through but not damage the books. Beinecke houses one of the worlds largest collections of rare books and manuscripts and currently has about half a million volumes and several million manuscripts. Established in 1963, yales beinecke library celebrated its 50th anniversary on 20. Bunshafts simple design shifted the aesthetic of yales central corridor while also setting engineering precedents that went far beyond the campus confines.
Feb 27, 2019 gordon bunshaft beinecke rare book and manuscript library hic arquitectura. Beinecke rare book library by gordon bunshaft som architect, at new haven, connecticut, 1963, architecture in the great buildings online. The purpose of the building is to serve as a research center for students. The beinecke library s robust collections are used to create new scholarship by researchers from around the world. Beinecke rare book library gordon bunshaft som great. Its preeminent collection provides extraordinarily rich resources for the study of sexual modernism and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender life and. Yales beinecke rare book and manuscript library turns 50. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library architectuul. Buildings, lever house, beinecke rare book and manuscript library, hirshhorn museum and sculpture garden lever house, new york city. The building was designed by gordon bunshaft and completed in 1963. Beinecke rare book is more than just a place to read. Since its opening in 1963, the marble exterior of beinecke rare book and manuscript library has kept hidden yales most obscure texts and invited the speculation of visitors and students alike. It is new heaven connecticut that houses my second favorite university.
It was time to celebrate our success and our remarkable building architect gordon bunshafts masterpiece of marble, granite, bronze and glass. The school bus crew visited the beinecke rare book library. Gordon bunshaft beinecke rare book and manuscript library. The library book shelves are placed in the centre and are accessed from the internal structure, the materials used, such as the steel and dark wood give off a. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library docomomo. 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. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library, new haven. Bunshaft designed three major institutional buildings. 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. Yale universitys home for rare works, including the mysterious voynich manuscript. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library all light comes through the stones in the wall, and the honeycolor trickle of sun rays makes it magical. It also reflects the wonderful collaboration between engineers and architects. The library curators talked about the librarys collection. Sunlight is passing through the translucent marble.
We know that we have provided the proper protection against theft and fire and a controlled environment ideal for book storage. Yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library was a 1963 gift of the beinecke family. Bunshaft s career was marked by shifts in material. Gordon bunshaft, american architect and corecipient with oscar niemeyer of the prestigious pritzker prize in 1988. All the books were placed around the core like a large display case. He also designed his own house, called the travertine house, in the hamptons in 1962, and the johnson presidential library in 1971. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library is a shining architectural specimen of the modern movement.
One of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts. Completed in 1963 and situated on yale universitys campus, in new haven, connecticut, the library has room for approximately 780,000 volumes. Cloistered by a protective shell of stone, the beinecke rare book and manuscript library is one of the worlds foremost collections of rare manuscripts. One of the worlds largest libraries devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts, it is yale universitys principal repository of literary archives, early manuscripts, and rare books. The building was designed by architect gordon bunshaft of the firm of skidmore, owings, and merrill, and is the largest building in the world reserved exclusively for the preservation of rare books and manuscripts.
Gordon bunshaft, faia may 9, 1909 august 6, 1990, was an american architect, a leading. The long list of his notable buildings includes lever house in new york, the beinecke rare book. 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. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library new haven modern. The column of books is surrounded by a ground floor and a mezzanine with display cases. New haven in 1963, yale university opened the most modern of structures to house its most ancient of books. Beinecke library construction photographs, 19611963. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library, 121 wall st, new. Detail of the beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale, new haven, connecticut. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library at the yale university, designed by gordon bundshaft of som 1080 x 1155 close. The beinecke library, yale university, new haven, 1963 by gordon bunshaft beinecke rare book and manuscript library, new haven, ct. This is the city i want to live in and its library.
Its rectangular volume is enclosed in sheets of marble, thin enough at. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to. Gordon bunshaft som beinecke rare books library, yale new haven, ct 196063. His design of the lever house skyscraper in new york city 1952 exerted a strong influence in american architecture. Educated at the massachusetts institute of technology, bunshaft. The library sits within a 200foot by 350foot plaza surrounded by neoclassic and gothic style buildings. It is a new building nestled among the old, which is an apt juxtaposition given that the library s holdings are some of the oldest texts in existence. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library designed by som in 1963 to emphasize the beauty of these rare books, they were set up to be the centerpiece of the building. Stephen jones, head of access services at the beinecke library, shared with the news some of the most widespread rumors and absurd myths that. Sep 30, 2014 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. About the beinecke renovation beinecke library renovation. In the late 1950s, interest in rare books, the philanthropy of the beineckes, the universitys pressing need for a special collections library, and the design by the architect gordon bunshaft, created the beinecke library one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and. The architect thought of the library as a treasure house of rare books whose presence ought to be emphasized.
As lead designer of the lever house and many of americas most historically prominent buildings, pritzker prizewinning architect gordon bunshaft 9 may 1909 6 august 1990 is credited with ushering in a new era of modernist skyscraper design and corporate architecture. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library beinecke rare bo. The structure of the library consists of four walls, each a vierendeel welded steel taperedcross truss into which a grid of vermont montclair danby marble panes has been fitted. The beinecke library s robust collections are used to create new scholarship.
You cant spell som without gordon bunshaft metropolis. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library amusing planet. Gordon bunshaft, faia, was an american architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the midtwentieth century. Discover beinecke rare book and manuscript library in new haven, connecticut. Medieval and renaissance manuscripts in beinecke library 69 illumination of books and manuscripts, medieval 66 manuscripts, medievalconnecticutnew haven 64 books of hours 25 early maps 17 cosmography 16. Yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library som. A modernized beinecke library opens next month architect. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library beinecke rare book and manuscript library at yale university, designed by gordon bunshaft of skidmore, owings, and merrill. One of the architects he invited to participate was gordon bunshaft of skidmore. Readers and some offices face a sunken openair courtyard in the traditional arrangement of a cloister scriptorium.
Gordon bunshaft, faia may 9, 1909 august 6, 1990, was an american architect, a leading proponent of modern design in the midtwentieth century. Yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Born in buffalo, new york to a russian jewish immigrant family, bunshaft studied architecture at mit, earning his bachelors and masters degrees in 1933 and 1935, respectively. Beinecke rare book and manuscript library at the yale.
The former marine midland building, an internationalstyle office tower designed by gordon bunshaft and som in 1967, is distinctive for how its imposing black. Som yale university beinecke rare book and manuscript library. The design is in the new formalist mode of modernism, using a symmetrical and repeated rhythm of geometric. A lower level houses offices, a scholars reading room, and the control desk for mechanical systems. In summarizing the entire design of the beinecke rare book and manuscript library, gordon bunshaft has said. 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 volumes in the underground book stacks. But after 50 years as a worldclass center of research and scholarship, the librarys infrastructure needs upgrading. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library was an architectural incongruity amid. This led to the idea of housing about 160,000 volumes on six levels within the 35 x 60foot glass shaft in the. Yale universitys beinecke rare book and manuscript library. Campbell will pryce the beinecke library, yale university the beinecke library, yale university, new haven, 1963 by gordon bunshaft beinecke rare book and manuscript library, new haven, ct. Dec 01, 2016 beinecke rare book and manuscript library, new haven, ct.
Originally, the rare books collection was stored on special shelving in dwight hall, which served as a library until the late 19th century. This remarkable jewelbox is the beinecke library for rare books on the campus of yale university. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library, yale. The library is open on monday from 10am7pm, tuesday to thursday from 9am7pm, friday 9am5pm, and saturday from 12pm5pm. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library sits prominently and visibly in the center of the yale university campus. The beinecke rare book and manuscript library youtube. 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. Media in category beinecke rare book and manuscript library the following 36 files are in this category, out of 36 total.
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