erdman hall dormitories
TRANSCRIPT
“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 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
1
2
3
4
5
6
7 9 8
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 Tyng’s
molecular plan.
2. David Polk’s
Scheme Inspiration: jewish community center Six lobbed structure
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 Polk’s 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
3 Levels
Buffer Areas Private dorm
spaces
Entrance Level
Double Height
entrance hall/ Center
Pavilion
Freshman
single
Single
person
room
Corner
rooms
Suites
( for 2
person )
Beaux-Art Principles
GEOMETRY
Private Halls formed by interlocking squares.
Chamfered edges to show the idea of
wrapping the ruins around a building
Plan of the building are three basic squares
skewed.
Linear arrangement of three diamonds.
Influence of architectural
concepts from Romans and
Greek
Used the Scottish Idea of
thick wall surrounding a
central room
STRUCTURE
Fire proof concrete slabs and
concrete roof
Tripartite elevation
Structural cores at the two corners of
the building
Concrete frame with CMU( Concrete
Masonry Unit) Infill
Coffered Roof
Structure (Noise
absorbant and visually
pleasing
Exposed
Concrete
interior walls
Wood used
for furniture
and hand
rails.
Structural Staircase Structural Staircase
U-Shaped Staircase
Building Entrance
LIGHT
Four Light wells placed at the
corners of each central hall.
Artificial
lighting,
Copper
fixtures
Diffused natural lighting
Clearstory windows for diffused lighting
View of the skylight
HIERARCHY OF SPACES
Main entrance hall/
Central Pavillion
Secondary Staircase
Secondary Staircase
Light
wells
Central Placement of the primary staircase
Entrance Lobby being the hierarchical space
Private hall Private hall Common Room
Cafeteria/Dining Hall
RHYTHM/REPITITION
Vertical rhythm created by the
repetition of Slate on Exterior
Facade
Rhythm & Repetition in the
coffered ceiling
Modular
Planning
PROPORTIONS
3a 11/2a
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
Thank You
Presented by:
Kiran Fatima
Maliha Bashir
Yousra Iqbal