Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Architect: Gordon Bunshaft
Year: 1963
Style: Brutalism
City: New Haven, CT
Collection: brutalism

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library was completed in 1963 to a design by Gordon Bunshaft, on Yale's campus. It's considered a landmark of modern architecture, built around a structural innovation of translucent marble that gives the building its highly recognizable facade.

the building

Translucent marble walls. The facade is built from translucent marble panels, a structural innovation widely cited as landmark work — the stone forms part of the building's structure while filtering light into the interior, and makes the building highly recognizable from the street.

the style

Brutalism (c. 1950–1980): Monumental raw concrete: repeated modular units, deep-set windows, and fortress-like massing.

nearby

Sterling Memorial Library 530 ft · Gothic Revival · 1930
Yale Art and Architecture Building 0.2 mi · Brutalism
Harkness Tower 0.2 mi · Gothic Revival · 1921
James Dwight Dana House 0.2 mi · Italianate · 1849
Payne Whitney Gymnasium 0.2 mi · 1932
New Haven County Courthouse 0.2 mi · Greek Revival

All 24 buildings in New Haven