Paul Rudolph Hall — 1963

History

Since its completion in 1963, the landmark Paul Rudolph Hall, originally called the Art + Architecture Building and located on the corner of York and Chapel Streets, has become one of the most identifiable buildings on campus. Designed by Paul Rudolph, then Chair of the Architecture department at Yale, the nine-story building, with its Brutalist-style façade of hammered concrete aggregate, is one-of-a-kind at Yale. Along with the Yale Repertory Theater, Louis Kahn’s Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art, Rudolph’s structure marks the center of the arts area on campus. Equally lauded and criticized for its design and interior organization, Rudolph Hall has gone through many changes in its 45-year history, surviving a mysterious fire in 1969 and undergoing several renovations since. In 2007, a major restoration and expansion began under the leadership of Yale School of Architecture Dean Robert A. M. Stern and architect Charles Gwathmey. Completed in August 2008, the building was renamed Paul Rudolph Hall. Together with the newly completed Jeffrey H. Loria Center for History of Art  and the expanded library, now known as the Robert B. Haas Family Art Library, Rudolph Hall forms a new arts complex for Yale.

Did You Know?

As the name suggests, the building was originally intended to hold both art and architecture students, but is now home to the Yale School of Architecture, undergraduate students of architecture and the Arts and Architecture library, now known as the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library.