291-309 Mansfield Street, New Haven, CT
“In describing this low rise, medium density housing complex for Yale, Rudolph said: ‘It should look like a village, not housing … though parts are repeated they don’t look it. Traditional housing has used repeated housing units, but it doesn’t bore. We too must repeat, but not bore. Spaces in between the units are important … courtyards and terraces, and paths and entrances.’
Fifty-one units are planned for a gently sloping wooded hillside plot approximately 250 ft by 250 ft or an acre and a half, in a residential section within easy walking distance of the university. All but six of the units have a courtyard surrounded by 7 ft walls, or a terrace. Although all fifty-one units could have been placed in a single high rise building which would have utilized a much smaller percentage of the site, Rudolph deliberately chose a low rise solution. It consists of a series of one, two and three storey units, with the one storey units at the bottom of the lot on the street, the two storey in the middle and the three storey at the top, thus exaggerating the appearance of a rising hill.”
“Four Current Projects by Paul Rudolph.” Architectural Record 129 (March 1961): 142, 145.
“The last building I had to drastically simplify after the cost estimates came in was the married student dormitories for Yale. Since then I have learned how to construct my designs within the budget. I use inexpensive materials, concrete block for an example … but then I like concrete block.”
“Paul Rudolph’s Elaborated Spaces: Six New Projects.” Architectural Record 139 (June 1966): 135-150
