Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Laboratories and David Goddard Laboratories Buildings

Richards and Goddard Buildings; Biology Building (for Goddard Laboratories, renamed 1983)
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Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Laboratories and David Goddard Laboratories Buildings

Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Louis Kahn, 1965.

Credit

Hugh Loomis

Site overview

The Richards and Goddard complex is cluster of interconnected towers, divided into “served” (the laboratory areas) and “servant spaces” (the utilities, mechanical areas, etc.). Whereas Richards had more of a “pinwheel” type of formation, the addition of Goddard took on a more linear form. However the structural frame and stacked layout of open spaces remained key elements in the composition for both projects. The structural system, which consists of an interlocking assembly of prefabricated reinforced concrete units in the form of large Vierendeel trusses, beams, and H-plan columns, allows the corner of the buildings to be “freely dissolved” and for a “rigorous clarity” of functional structure.

Awards

Design

Citation of Merit

Civic

The Design Citation of Merit is given for the restoration of Richards Medical Research Laboratories, one of the most important projects of architect Louis I. Kahn. This National Historic Landmark building retains a high degree of integrity and prior to the renovation it had undergone no major campaigns of alteration. Plagued with functional issues from the start, the building suffered from outdated building systems and the exquisite exposed concrete and cinder block walls and ceilings became so soiled and damaged that they had been covered up. This technically challenging renovation began with a change to the primary use of the building from wet lab science research to a dry-lab with computationally intensive uses. The key technical drivers of the restoration were glazing and the building systems. The dichotomy between sustaining the Laboratories as an architectural icon and its functional and environmental performance defined it for over fifty years. The renovation has resulted in a high-performance building admired by both the users and the local architectural community.

“The designers grappled with tough questions. What do you do with a problematic building greater in concept than execution? What should be ‘preserved’? We will face these questions again and the results here are valuable to study.”
-Alan Hess, 2020 Jury member

“The project integrates systems and technology while respecting the character of the existing, rigid structure and retaining character-defining features such as the window frames for a successful final design.”

- Kim Yao, 2020 Jury chair
Client

The University of Pennsylvania 

Restoration Team

EYP Architecture & Engineering, Atkin Olshin Schade Architects

Primary classification

Education (EDC)

Terms of protection

Properties listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places must get approval from the Philadelphia Historical Commission for construction, alteration, or demolition through a design review process.

Designations

National Historic Register of Historic Places (as a contributing property to the University of Pennsylvania Campus Historic District), listed on December 28, 1978

Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, October 8, 2004

National Historic Landmark, designated on January 16, 2009

Author(s)

Nelly Chang | Columbia University | 3/4/2010

How to Visit

Private university building

Location

University of Pennsylvania

3700-3710 Hamilton Walk
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, 10025

Country

US

Richards Medical Research Laboratories, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, Louis Kahn, 1965.

Credit:

Hugh Loomis

Designer(s)