Richards Medical Research Laboratories
- Architect
- Louis Kahn
- City
- Philadelphia, PA
The Richards Medical Research Laboratories, on the University of Pennsylvania campus, is considered a breakthrough in the career of architect Louis Kahn. The complex is organized as a cluster of laboratory towers around a central service tower, with brick shafts on the exterior holding stairwells and air ducts, an effect Kahn likened to the ancient Italian towers he had painted years earlier.
the building
Concrete left exposed. Rather than hide its frame behind a steel skeleton, the building is built of reinforced concrete left visible and openly bearing weight, using precisely formed prefabricated concrete elements that advanced the construction technique's state of the art.
Served and servant spaces. Kahn separated the laboratories from their mechanical support, distinct towers holding stairwells and ductwork apart from the working lab floors, a clear architectural expression of what he called served and servant spaces.
the architect
Kahn considered the Richards Laboratories, together with the related Goddard Laboratories he designed nearby as a second phase of the project, a turning point that helped set new directions for modern architecture.
More on Louis Kahnsignificance
The complex is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both individually and as a contributing property.
more by Louis Kahn
nearby
- Fisher Fine Arts Library
- University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
- Woodland Terrace
- St. Anthony Hall House
- Protestant Episcopal Church of the Saviour
- 32nd St. and Lancaster Ave. Philadelphia Armory