A dormitory should not express a nostalgia for home

"It is not a permanent place, but an interim place."

-LOUIS KAHN

ERDMAN HALL DORMITORIES -LOUIS KAHN

FACTS

Architect: Louis I. Kahn Location: Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania Date :1960 to 1965 Building Type: Women dormitories Construction: System concrete frame, CMU infill, slate cladding Climate :temperate

Context: suburban campus

Style :Modern Plan type: Intersecting diamond plans with services at core and rooms at periphery. Language: Vernacular (Gothic and Scottish Castles) and Classical Number of Floors: Three Bathrooms shared by floor

Room Type: Upper Class single, Freshman single, Suites

Special Features: Living room, Tea pantries, Pit, Back Smoker, Laundry, Women center library, Dining hall

SITE LOCATION
3
1

5
6 7 8 9

1.Bryn Mawr college 2.Benham Gateway admissions 3.Campus centre 4.Shipley School 5.Canaday Library 6.Scottish Castle 7.Lois and Reginald library 8.Erdman Hall Dormitories 9.Parking area

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Initial sketches 1. Schematic Plans 2. Resolved Sketch Plans
The schematic plans were translated into interconnected rectangular figures
He worked with two simultaneous proposals 1. Anne Tyngs molecular plan. 2. David Polks Scheme

Six lobbed structure

Inspiration: jewish community center

Design Principle: Wrapping small spaces around large public spaces and its translation into a unified composition

Division of public spaces at the front and private spaces at the back

David Polks Scheme L-Shaped rooms assembled into four tower like blocks grouped around an open courtyard

Servant Spaces Served Spaces

Diamond Shaped public spaces Rooms wrapped around a public space Compacted molecular plan

FUNCTIONAL LAYOUT
Corner rooms

Freshman single Single person room

Suites ( for 2 person )

Double Height entrance hall/ Center Pavilion

3 Levels

Entrance Level

Private dorm Buffer Areas spaces

Beaux-Art Principles

GEOMETRY

Influence of architectural concepts from Romans and Greek

Plan of the building are three basic squares skewed. Linear arrangement of three diamonds. Private Halls formed by interlocking squares. Chamfered edges to show the idea of wrapping the ruins around a building
Used the Scottish Idea of thick wall surrounding a central room

STRUCTURE

Structural Staircase

Tripartite elevation

Structural Staircase

Concrete frame with CMU( Concrete Masonry Unit) Infill

Fire proof concrete slabs and concrete roof

Structural cores at the two corners of the building

Coffered Roof Structure (Noise absorbant and visually pleasing Exposed Concrete interior walls Wood used for furniture and hand rails. U-Shaped Staircase

Building Entrance

LIGHT

Four Light wells placed at the corners of each central hall.

Diffused natural lighting

View of the skylight

Artificial lighting, Copper fixtures

Clearstory windows for diffused lighting

HIERARCHY OF SPACES

Light wells

Secondary Staircase

Common Room

Private hall

Private hall Cafeteria/Dining Hall Secondary Staircase

Main entrance hall/ Central Pavillion

Central Placement of the primary staircase Entrance Lobby being the hierarchical space

RHYTHM/REPITITION

Vertical rhythm created by the repetition of Slate on Exterior Facade Rhythm & Repetition in the coffered ceiling Modular Planning

PROPORTIONS

11/2a

3a

CIRCULATION

Primary Staircase for vertical circulation Secondary staircase Entry Circulation Circulation around the central halls Entry Axis Secondary Circulation Axis

SPATIAL ORGANIZATION

Spatial Flow and Layering

Three Levels

Entrance Level

Main Entrance Hall

Facing towards the Scottish Castle

Ground floor common rooms

Presented by: Kiran Fatima Maliha Bashir Yousra Iqbal

Thank You