Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Laboratories and David Goddard Laboratories Buildings

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Laboratories and David Goddard Laboratories Buildings are two research buildings on Hamilton Walk at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, built from 1957 to 1965 in the Modern Movement style. Architect Louis I. Kahn designed the complex, and Joseph Farrell served as builder. August Komendant and Keast & Hood served as structural engineers.

Why it's listed

It was listed under Criterion C in 2009, with national-level significance in architecture, and the complex is designated a National Historic Landmark. Its period of significance runs from 1957 to 1965, matching the years Kahn's laboratories were designed and built.

Physical character

The buildings have reinforced concrete foundations and walls of concrete, brick, concrete block and brick veneer, trimmed in granite, under flat roofs. The laboratories rest on a pre-stressed, post-tensioned Vierendeel truss beam system carried on H-plan columns. A covered entry portico and brick paving blocks mark the approach to the buildings.

Historical context

Kahn was awarded the design early in 1957. The university held a dedication ceremony and named the building for Alfred Newton Richards in 1960. Construction was substantially complete by 1963, the Biology Building was finished in 1964, and landscape work and the Goddard Building were completed in 1965.