Can Paul Rudolph Get Some Love?

Thanks for going where I couldn't make it, Van. I've been off for a few days (hard drive crash, but no harm done). I've read a bit about Rudolph's proposal for the LME, and seen sketches in books, but I'd no concept of the scale. Thanks for the great pictures.

As urbanism, this is a dystopian nightmare worthy of Syd Mead. It's the answer to a question nobody asked, but what an answer it is!

Pierce, your photos of UMass Dartmouth are great as well -- thanks for sharing.

Rudolph's work isn't for everyone, but it's hard to deny that he was a master architect. If Wright is Beethoven, then Rudolph is Brahms.
 
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Are his UMass-Dartmouth buildings well-regarded by the students and faculty there?
 
It's a good question, Ron.

My friend Ken was on the music faculty there several years ago; his interest in architecture is a result of working in one of Rudolph's buildings. Institutionally, I think the University's leadership thinks enough of the buildings to keep them in good order and to mount the occasional exhibition of original Rudolph drawings and sponsor symposia on an array of architectural topics. There aren't many campuses like UMass Dartmouth -- Florida Southern College is another example.

The question of student life is another matter. You have a connection to MIT; what did students of your generation think of Baker House? What do today's students think of Simmons Hall?

My undergraduate dormitory experience at Roger Williams College played out in modernist buildings of the same era as Rudolph's campus. In general, the rooms were small and drafty, but I got by pretty well. As long as I had a place to crash, get altered, get laid, (and, oh yeah, study), all was right in the world.
 
MIT's Baker House was well-loved, and probably still is. Simmons is way after my time so I don't know how its residents feel about it.

Students in the 1970s hated the Brutalist Stratton Student Center, but it has been extensively refitted since then and is a lot more functional now.
 
Baker is a masterpiece; I believe the building was restored and upgraded about six years ago. Steven Holl would probably tell you that Simmons is an experimental building; time will tell...
 
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