Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 27, 2002|Volume 31, Number 4

Yale doctoral student Marisa Angell is pictured with one of the INFObjects that will stand outside seven of the city's best examples of modern architecture.

Student's 'urban museum' showcases
city's modern architecture

Capitalizing on a prominent asset of New Haven, a Yale graduate student has turned the city into a "museum" of modern architecture with an architecturally relevant way to provide information to viewers.

The "Urban Museum of Modern Architecture (UMMA): New Haven" consists of seven buildings designed by preeminent American architects from 1950 to 1970 within easy walking distance of each other. Each building has its own informational kiosk-like structure, called an "INFObject," designed with architectural features of that building.

The project was the idea of Marisa Angell, a doctoral candidate in Yale's history of art department, who thought of treating New Haven's architectural treasures like museum pieces while she was on a trip to Berlin. She realized, she says, that despite the German city's unparalleled monuments of contemporary architecture, she was spending more time strolling in its museums than on its streets.

"Museums are easier," she reflects. "They organize and identify the objects in their collections, and they provide historical background that casts new light on the paintings and sculpture displayed."

She decided the same treatment could be accorded works of architecture by turning a city into an exhibition space for its finest buildings and providing information through signage of appropriate scale.

As New Haven is noted for extraordinary buildings designed by some of the 20th century's greatest architects -- most affiliated with the Yale School of Architecture -- it seemed like the perfect city to put her idea into action, Angell says.

She chose seven buildings that exemplified a Golden Age in American architecture when New Haven became a model of redevelopment and urban renewal. These buildings, the years they were built and their architects are:

* Yale University Art Gallery, 1951-1953, Louis I. Kahn.

* David S. Ingalls Hockey Rink, 1956-1958, Eero Saarinen.

* The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 1960-1963, Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill.

* The Art and Architecture Building, 1958-1963, Paul Rudolph.

* Crawford Manor, 1962-1966, Paul Rudolph.

* The Yale Center for British Art and British Studies, 1969-1977, Louis I. Kahn (completed by Pellacchia & Meyers).

* The Dixwell Fire Station, 1967-1974, Venturi & Rauch.

Information about each of the buildings will be available in brochures that are housed in the "INFObjects" prominently displayed within or just outside of each building. Designed by Richard Garber and Nicole Robertson of the architecture firm Emergent Office, each 6-foot INFObject has text about the building inscribed onto its surface and a shelving system for the informational brochures.

The brochures, which are free, include historical information about each building and its architect; images, such as of other buildings by the architect; a list of other works by the architect in New Haven; and a site map showing these and other important buildings in the city.

All seven INFObjects are on exhibit at the New Haven Colony Historical Society, 114 Whitney Avenue, through Oct. 18. Following the exhibition, they will be installed at their respective venues and will be on view and stocked with brochures for one year.

A formal opening reception for the exhibition and project will take place on Friday, Sept. 27, at 6 p.m. at the New Haven Colony Historical Society. A series of short addresses will be given by individuals who worked or studied with Kahn, Rudolph, Saarinen, Bunshaft and Venturi, followed by a question-and-answer session with members of the audience. The event is free and open to the public.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Courses to expose students earlier to 'thrill' of research

Student's 'urban museum' showcases city's modern architecture

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to speak on campus

Conference marks anniversary of Holocaust archive

Gift will continue work of Yale center devoted to studying impact of slavery

Educator stresses importance of grooming 'future Bouchets'

Murals at Peabody open 'window' on Maya culture

Exhibit showcases works by longtime Yale professor

'Blessing' of washerwoman's legacy brings New Haven policeman to Divinity School

Event advances knowledge of Vietnam's toxic legacy

Anti-drug advertising curbs teen use, says SOM researcher

Expert on racism during Civil War to join faculty

Just a Bowl of cheerers: Employee Day at the Yale Bowl

A place for poetry

Lecturer speaks about newest issues in field of information technology

'Intersections' aims to close the rift between academic theories and . . .

Noted cancer specialist and surgeon Dr. Jack Westley Cole dies

Fair will acquaint (and re-acquaint) staff about myriad of University benefits . . .

Donations of computers can help bring India into 'Information Age'

College master showcases his private art collection

Quilts, photos featured in new show

Nursing school staff take part in training retreat

Rubenfeld featured in library book discussion