The 20th century modern master architect Le Corbusier once said: “a house is a machine for living.” His Heidi Weber Pavilion was intended to convey a kit of parts ingeniously linked in creative use of technologically precise building bits and parts. 40 years ago, the job captain of that project blew the whistle on its lack of techno-bona fides: The Heidi Weber Pavilion had each piece wrought by Swiss craftsmen — no machine-age mass-production, more Swiss watch maker hand-made perfection.
New Haven is full of those machines — not so many houses, but a lot of modern machines of architecture that need extreme hand-wrought, one-off craftsmanship in their restoration.
That machine is on view today as the Yale British Arts Center undergoes a major renovation: Architect George Knight must have the patience of saint as he completely creates a new viable HVAC system with the perfect skin of Louis Kahn’s center. Saarinen’s Ingall’s rink buried its technological make-up calls in a subterranean addition by Kevin Roche’s Office. The Yale Architecture School by Paul Rudolph was completely cleaned out of its make up calls and off-loaded its technological compensations in a new building by Charles Gwathmey.
To hear more about these “machines” close to home, click on or download the audio above.
What I like best about this whole series is how Duo Dickinson weaves together design, economics, regulation and technology. He crafts a rich view of our new and old buildings, understanding trade-offs across multiple dimensions. There is nothing dogmatic here.
Thanks!