Yale Center for British Art Building, Architect Louis Kahn US Project, Opening, Image

Yale Center for British Art

Modern New Haven Building, CT, USA – design by architect Louis Kahn

6 May 2016

Yale Center for British Art Building Reopening

Design: Louis Kahn architect

Yale Center for British Art Opening

Address: 1080 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States

After a decade of planning, eight years of renovation and a 16-month closure, the Yale Center for British Art — one of the half-dozen or so masterpieces designed by the Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn during the last 15 years of his life — reopens to the public on May 11, reports the New York Times. And for those who have loved this award-winning museum since it first opened in 1977, showcasing Paul Mellon’s superb collection of British art, the good news is that you can barely see the difference.

photograph : Public Domain, http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1252452

Much of the woodwork has been refinished to give it renewed warmth. The aging fabric that covered the exhibition walls has been exchanged for new white Belgian linen. Nearly invisible sprinkler lines have been applied to the crossbeams of the roof, and synthetic carpeting, added during an earlier remodel, has been replaced by undyed wool carpets in the color and texture specified by Kahn.

photograph by Lian Chang from New York City – [1], CC BY 2.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10911601

As it emerged from its final design, the Yale Center looked unlike any previous Kahn building. From the street, it could almost be an expensive office complex, with its alternating panels of matte gray steel and shiny glass.

photograph by Taís Melillo from New York, USA – Louis Kahn stairwell, CC BY-SA 2.0, http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10911376

You enter the four-story structure from the corner, through a dark and somewhat forbidding external foyer, but once inside, you are rewarded with a beautifully proportioned atrium where light floods down from above. The materials that make up this interior have a smoother, sleeker look than anything in Kahn’s other buildings.

Link: Yale Center for British Art Building Reopening

photograph by Taís Melillo from New York, USA

The Louis I. Kahn Building

The Yale Center for British Art was designed by the internationally acclaimed American architect Louis I. Kahn (1901–1974), states the Yale Center for British Art website. Located across the street from his first major commission, the Yale University Art Gallery (opened in 1953), the Center was Kahn’s final building and was completed after his death. It was the first museum in the United States to incorporate retail shops in its design.

The Center’s exterior of matte steel and reflective glass confers a monumental presence in downtown New Haven. The geometrical four-floor interior is designed around two courtyards and is comprised of a restrained palette of natural materials including travertine marble, white oak, and Belgian linen. Kahn succeeded in creating intimate galleries where one can view objects in diffused natural light. He wanted to allow in as much daylight as possible, with artificial illumination used only on dark days or in the evening. The building’s design, materials, and skylit rooms combine to provide an environment for the works of art that is simple and dignified.

Website: Yale Center for British Art – Architecture

photograph by Taís Melillo from New York, USA

AIA Twenty-Five Year Award

In 2005, the Yale Center for British Art was awarded the Twenty-Five Year Award by the American Institute of Architects. This prestigious honor recognizes architectural landmarks of enduring significance completed within the previous twenty-five to thirty-five years that have withstood the test of time. Only one such award is given each year. The Center was the fifth building by Kahn to receive AIA’s Twenty-Five Year Award, joining the Yale University Art Gallery (1979; built 1951), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (1992; built 1959), Phillips Exeter Academy Library (1997; built 1965), and the Kimbell Art Museum (1998; built 1966).

Building Conservation Project

The second phase of a building conservation project is now underway. These renovations will allow the Center’s collections to be experienced in the building as Kahn originally envisioned and will bring vital systems, spaces, and amenities to state-of-the-art standards for future generations to enjoy. The project follows more than a decade of research on the history of the design, construction, and renovation of the building, as well as the publication in 2011 of Louis I. Kahn and the Yale Center for British Art: A Conservation Plan. The first plan of its kind in the United States, this book sets forth a series of policies that identify significant features of the building that must be protected and others that might be changed.

Website: Yale Center for British Art Connecticut

Yale University Art Gallery News

Renovated and Expanded Yale Art Gallery to Open on December 12, 2012

photos © Elizabeth Felicella, 2012

Yale University Art Gallery

Exterior view of the Yale University Art Gallery, (left to right: Louis Kahn building, Old Yale:

photo © Elizabeth Felicella, 2012

Yale University Art Gallery (left to right: Louis Kahn Building, Old Yale Art Gallery, and Street Hall):

photo © Christopher Gardner, 2012

Yale University Art Gallery (left to right: Kahn Building, Old Yale Art Gallery, and Street Hall), South Exterior Elevation:

image © Ennead Architects

Yale University Art Gallery – Public Information

The Gallery is located at 1111 Chapel Street, in New Haven, Connecticut. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 am to 5 pm (Thursday until 8 pm, September through June); Sunday, 1 to 6 pm; closed Mondays and major holidays. It is open to the public, and admission is free. For additional information, the public may call 203.432.0600, or go to www.artgallery.yale.edu.

photos © Elizabeth Felicella, 2012

Yale University Art Gallery images / information received 070212

Yale Art Gallery

Key Louis Kahn Building

Yale University Art Gallery
Date: 1953
Louis Kahn / Polshek Partnership Architects, LLP

Location: 1111 Chapel St, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Client: for the Yale Corporation

Louis Kahn masterpiece

Refurbished 2003-06:
Building work overseen by Polshek Partnership Architects

Louis Kahn

Yale Arts Complex – Paul Rudolph Hall at Yale University, USA
2009

photo : Peter Aaron
Paul Rudolph Hall

The completely renovated and expanded Paul Rudolph Hall at Yale University, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects (GSAA) has received a LEED Gold certification.

Yale School of Architecture Events : YSOA Lectures + Exhibitions

Location:1080 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06510, United States

Yale University Art Gallery architect : Louis I. Kahn

American Architecture

Another Yale University Building on e-architect:

Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges
Renovation + new-build : KieranTimberlake

photo © Peter Aaron/OTTO
Morse and Ezra Stiles Colleges