“The usual definition of scale is the relationship of the human dimension to the environment. We talk about a building being “in scale” or “out of scale,” which is really nonsense. Most buildings that really count have multiple scales. Buildings need to be understandable in their varying dimensions – sight, sound, smell, relationship to their…
“In New Haven, in the 60s, I designed some housing using trailers. I had the acquiescence of Mayor Lee, a remarkable mayor indeed. The whole notion of making a project for about 150 people using trailers was difficult to persuade anybody to do. I suppose it was a mistake; it was eventually demolished. People hated…
Read More “On the Oriental Masonic Gardens, New Haven, CT” »
In many of his public comments on architecture, Paul Rudolph referred to “urbanism” as one of the guiding principles in his work. In this 1992 article published in the Italian journal, Arca he articulates that explanation. “Urban design is remodeling, adding, subtracting, reworking, relating and reforming three-dimensional spaces for human activities, including all pedestrian and…
“I always see the site. Of course I went there. I did an interesting thing, at their suggestion, as a matter of fact. I told them that I wanted to get as clear an idea of vernacular architecture in that part of the world as possible. They took me to some villages nearby, but they…
Read More “On Dharmala Sakti Building, Jakarta, Indonesia, 1982-1988” »
“Architectural educations’ first concern is to perpetuate a climate where the student is acutely and perceptively and incessantly aware of the creative process. We must understand that after all the building committees, the conflicting interests, the budget considerations and the limitations of his fellow man have been taken into consideration that his responsibility has just…
“Hong Kong is an entirely different project. It is interesting in that it’s being built on somebody else’s foundations, and, therefore, the planning of Hong Kong is determined by foundations already poured in place. The owners changed because of the relationship with Red China and everybody got scared. They are totally commercial office buildings, unlike…
Read More “On the Bond Centre (now Lippo Centre), Hong Kong” »
“We must search for the innate possibilities of a given site or climate and the regional characteristics of vernacular building. Every city has its own unique scale, proportions and materials. Traditional methods of building quite often are still the most economical; one doesn’t always have to put up a curtain wall. Mendelsohn [Erich, 1887-1953] in…
“Much worthy effort has been spent in finding better relationships between residential areas of all varieties and the town as a whole. However, it seems to us that the detached house, so popular in America and receiving so much attention as an individual unit, has for the most part simply been lined up on each…
“We must develop some kind of consistent theory for relating one building to another and to the environment. The Ecole des Beaux Arts did have such a theory. I’m not proposing that we bring it back, but in the nineteenth century when the Ecole des Beaux Arts was in full swing, they did have a…
“It was very complimentary for me to have been asked to do this because I loved Paul and because of my time here. Paul used to recruit Der Scutt (Yale, ’61) and me to ink perspective drawings of the building at night. As he designed, he struggled about being across the street from Louis Kahn….
