The completely renovated and expanded Paul Rudolph Hall at Yale University, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects (GSAA) has received a LEED Gold certification. The 114,000 square foot building, constructed of cast-in-place concrete in the Brutalist style, was formerly known as the Art and Architecture Building. It was designed by then chair of the Department of Architecture, Paul Rudolph and completed in 1963. GSAA's design results from the integration of programmatic, structural and mechanical needs. It includes the restoration of exterior walls, the installation of historically correct windows, and upgrades to all building facilities including the exhibition gallery, jury and studio spaces, study areas, and administrative and faculty offices. It also introduces new lighting and furnishings throughout, in many cases replicating the originals, and brings the structure into compliance with current building and fire codes.
Clad in limestone and zinc panels, the new addition, the seven-story Jeffrey H. Loria Center for the History of Art building, adds another 87,000 square feet of space that provides classrooms, seminar rooms, lecture halls, faculty offices, lounge, and public cafe. The Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library, which occupies portions of both the new and old buildings, brings together all of Yale's previously dispersed arts collections. Known collectively as the Yale Arts Complex, the project was completed in 2008 and was led by Senior Associates Steven Forman and Elizabeth Skowronek, under the direction of the late Charles Gwathmey and Robert Siegel.
The Burchfield Penney Art Center located on the campus of Buffalo State College has officially received LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for meeting rigorous standards in the areas of site sustainability, water use and efficiency, reduced use of energy and atmospheric impact, use of materials and resources, improved indoor air quality and innovation in design. The Burchfield Penney is the first art museum in New York State to be LEED certified, and among the first several art museums in the nation to achieve LEED certification.
Clad in zinc panels, magnesium brick and cast stone, accentuating the formal articulation of the volumetric elements, the 84,000 square foot two-story structure houses the art of Western New York. It was conceived as a contrapointal, abstract, ambiguously scaled, "sculptural object," Spaces include a dramatic 147-foot long double height main gallery, a variety of other flexible gallery spaces, an auditorium, classrooms, museum store, cafe, public reception room, administration, boardroom, support functions, and a roof terrace. The project was completed in 2008 and just received a 2009 Honor Award from the AIA Buffalo/Western New York Chapter in the category of New build over 25,000 square feet.
"The fundamentals of sustainable design call upon the core principles of the architect's craft," commented Robert Siegel, and the "integration of sustainable design principles within a project's overall solution as realized in these two important works, continues to be a natural extension of the holistic, collaborative design approach which is the foundation of our firm's work."