Architectural Evolution: Tracing the History of University Main Buildings
The architecture of university main buildings reflects a rich history of educational philosophies, evolving styles, and societal shifts in the United States. From the earliest colonial colleges to contemporary institutions, the design of these central structures reveals changing priorities and aspirations within higher education.
The Genesis of American College Architecture: Colonial Era
The history of college campuses in the United States began in 1636 with the founding of Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, then known as New Towne. The earliest American colleges and universities were all affiliated with different Christian denominations; Brown, for example, was founded by Baptists, while the Columbia University (then King's College) was founded by the Church of England. As colleges developed and increased in number, many strayed from their religious affiliations, or were founded without one.
The Colonial Colleges were modeled, at least in their educational goals, on their earlier British equivalents, specifically Oxford University and Cambridge University. British institutions were mostly cloistered and modeled after earlier Monastic complexes, which were designed to be shut off from the secular world. This format was also space efficient, given that Oxford and Cambridge were established cities developing alongside their respective academies. This arrangement also provided a defensive advantage, in the event of difficulty from townspeople or warfare. Oxford and Cambridge were separated into smaller colleges, which were organized around green spaces.
However, American colleges diverged in their use of space; few of the earliest colleges were organized in ways similar to English institutions. Americans also differed in their educational practices. The word campus was first used in reference to Princeton's original building and the land that separated it from the neighboring town. The term comes from the Latin, meaning a field. Sources note the speed with which colonists founded their colleges, suggesting the importance of education to early Americans.
The first established was Harvard University, and, along with William and Mary, and Princeton, their importance was further suggested by the massive edifices they erected, with several different schools claiming the largest building in the British colonies. Although Oxford and Cambridge diverged slightly in terms of architectural styles, the colonial colleges did so to a much greater degree. William and Mary's campus design similarly rejected the enclosed quadrangle, and was originally a single building that burned, to be replaced later by a single structure, the Wren Building, named for its purported designer Christopher Wren. The newer building was three sided, open on the fourth, in a style favored by Wren; he disliked four sided, monastic-style constructions.
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As with William and Mary, Princeton was organized around a single building, and unlike William and Mary, few additions were made to the campus during the colonial period. The building, Nassau Hall, was considered to be one of the most imposing and largest in colonial America, and was widely reproduced by other schools in later years - such is the case with University Hall at Brown, for example. Yale's early plans were equally influential.
Post-Revolutionary Expansion and Architectural Shifts
After the American Revolution, there was a proliferation of colleges, with at least forty-five extant by the 1820s. Like their colonial predecessors, these were affiliated with Christian denominations, albeit ones increasingly obscure and minute. Also like their predecessors, these were primarily rural. Unlike in contemporary layouts, there was little emphasis on now-essential structures; curricula heavy on memorization and subsequent recitation meant there was no need for large lecture halls or libraries.
New universities mimicked the layouts of Yale, William and Mary, and Princeton, while others developed innovative plans. The University of North Carolina first used the mall model, in which buildings were arranged facing one another down a central avenue of green space. The University of South Carolina (then known as South Carolina College) later hosted a contest open to architects, which was won by Robert Mills.
Early 18th century campuses were dominated by Greek Revival architecture, which emulated traditional Classical architecture. This inspiration influenced both individual buildings and general layouts, with new emphasis placed on symmetry. The interest in Classical architecture was met with equal interest, beginning in the 1830s, in Gothic architecture, leading to the Gothic Revival. The interest in Gothic design stemmed from the mistaken view that the style had originated in England, and the shift was predominantly led by Anglican colleges and their administrations, including that of Columbia University.
Among the major uses of the Gothic in the United States, the two campuses designed by Philander Chase (that of Kenyon College and that of the now defunct Jubilee College) were some of the most notable, although Jubilee College's construction was never finished. Kenyon College's central building, Old Kenyon, was the first collegiate building in the United States to be designed in the Gothic style.
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The Morrill Land-Grant Acts and Evolving Campus Planning
During the Civil War, the first of the Morrill Land-Grant Acts was passed, in 1862. This first act responded to calls for colleges and universities that served "the people" through the instruction of practical skills, and support for agricultural and industrial research. Frederick Law Olmsted was a key figure in the development of the physical presence of the land grant colleges. He placed on emphasis of the integration of the campus into the local community, stressing that their placement should be neither rural nor urban. His philosophy of planning was practical, based on the slow integration of smaller buildings as they became necessary, rather than the all-at-once construction of a single large building, or several large buildings.
Olmsted was consulted concerning the planning of at least twenty different schools, and although some (such as the Massachusetts Agricultural College) did not take his advice, many others did. Generally, the campuses of colleges and universities for women, originating in the 1850s, were rural, and campuses generally featured a single building for the housing of all the college's functions. This was justified as a means of protecting and controlling students, as well as providing a family-like atmosphere.
Late 19th Century: Beaux-Arts and Pragmatism
Construction in the late 19th century was dominated by the emergence of Beaux-Arts architecture. Many of the new campuses designed during this period were built in the style, which was ornate, and inspired by classical architecture. One of the best known examples of a Beaux-Arts campus is that of Columbia University, which in 1892 began the process of moving its campus-for the second time in its history-to a new location.
Not all colleges designed their buildings in keeping with the Beaux Arts aesthetic. While many built in the elaborate style, others deliberately resisted the urge to build such expensive campuses. Johns Hopkins University, for example, chose pragmatism over conformation. The university built in order to blend in with the surrounding city.
20th Century Developments: Modernism and Beyond
The Great Depression stymied construction on many campuses, including Harvard's. Subsequently, World War II caused difficulty for many colleges, although immediately after the war there was a large increase in the number of students attending college due to the G.I. Bill. The bill featured the provision of tuition to returning soldiers.
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Modernist architecture was initially controversial in the United States, as it represented a stark stylistic departure from older collegiate styles. Hunter College was one of the first campuses to incorporate Modernist design, a decision for which it received praise. Later, Illinois Institute of Technology built its entire campus in Modernist style, giving Mies van der Rohe free rein to employ and showcase Modernist techniques, perhaps best exemplified in S. R.
Contemporary construction on college campuses is diverse, with construction mirroring and diverging from earlier styles and trends. Examples of deliberately referential or contextual architecture include Whitman College, at Princeton. Some institutions, such as Rhodes College and Franklin and Marshall, have resisted change, preferring to construct in the same styles originally employed on their campuses. This has led to continuous Collegiate Gothic construction at Rhodes. At Franklin and Marshall, this has meant Georgian and Colonial Revival buildings in the style of Charles Klauder designed by architects such as Robert A. M. Stern and the firm of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott. These decisions have sometimes been controversial.
Other schools, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Cincinnati have embraced experimental or contemporary architecture. The MIT campus features work from Modernists such as Eero Saarinen and I.M.
Contemporary Trends in University Architecture
Today, information seems to run at lightning speeds, and newer college buildings are embracing the tech-driven world with ultra-modern, experimental designs. Many new campus buildings feature contemporary steel-and-glass designs with futuristic details that highly contrast older buildings on campus.
Opened in 2017, the two newest residential colleges at Yale University, Benjamin Franklin College and Pauli Murray College, became a case study in how contemporary buildings can honor traditional design while introducing 21st-century amenities. Designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects (RAMSA), the two large dormitories reinforce Yale’s legacy of collegiate Gothic architecture while reading as new construction to the trained eye. The two buildings feature unique layouts to create enclosed courtyards and are stylistically designed as fraternal twins, similar in size and palette but each enjoying its own identity and organization. RAMSA architects were inspired by James Gamble Rogers’ 1930s Colleges at Yale, which (like at Harvard) were inspired by the college systems at Cambridge and Oxford in England which create enclosed quads or courtyards for students in self-contained housing. Like Rogers’ Neo-Gothic Yale buildings, the Franklin and Murray Colleges feature battlements, stained and leaded glass windows, iron gateways, towers, and hidden stone gargoyles.
Some universities have long shown off their innovative thinking (and healthy endowments) by mixing traditional collegiate styles with modernist icons-think Harvard, Yale, or MIT. Some seem only grudgingly to allow contemporary architecture within eyeshot of their traditional quads. Yet others, like the University of Virginia, keep things cohesive and classic.
Examples of Architectural Styles in University Buildings
Greek Revival: This style flourished in the States through the 1700s and 1800s, inspiring classic American styles such as Colonial and Federalist. It can be seen on many East Coast campuses, including Princeton, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Brown, and Cornell. The President’s Mansion at the University of Alabama is a stunning example of Greek Revival style.
Collegiate Gothic: This style is a subcategory of the Gothic Revival movement and is what you most likely picture when you think of a college campus. This style was popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It was used on campuses nationwide, including Yale, Duke, Harvard, and even West-Coaster UCLA. Collegiate Gothic borrows English Tudor and Gothic architectural elements, including tall towers, pointed archways, ribbed vaults, and intricate stonework. Duke University’s campus, with its Perkins Library and 210-foot-high Duke Chapel, is renowned for its examples of collegiate Gothic architecture. Vanderbilt Hall at Yale is also a stunning Collegiate Gothic structure.
Brutalism: The Brutalist movement began after World War II in the United Kingdom to speed up the timelines of post-war construction projects. Brutalism got its name from the French word béton brut, meaning raw concrete, because it relied on affordable concrete instead of more expensive steel. By the 1960s, the style made its way to American college campuses. It features strong, angular designs centered around function over aesthetics. Many find the style to feel oppressive and domineering. Most American colleges, including Yale, Harvard, and Northwestern, have one or two Brutalist buildings from the era. UMass Dartmouth by Kenneth C.
Notable University Buildings and Campuses
Harvard University: The country’s oldest institution for higher learning looks it, with buildings going back to the 1720s, but it was also one of the first schools to embrace modernist architecture. The Carpenter Center, its pedestrian ramp slicing radically through its middle, is Le Corbusier’s only building in America (not counting his collaboration on the United Nations headquarters). The tradition of nontraditional work continues with examples from Kieran Timberlake, Sir Michael Hopkins, and Cesar Pelli, with a Norman Foster project on its way.
University of Virginia: When Thomas Jefferson is your chief architect and your campus has been named a World Heritage site, you don’t have a lot to prove architecturally. In 1976, the school even undid the changes to its trademark rotunda made by famed Beaux Arts architect Stanford White, in favor of Jefferson’s original Neoclassical design. The campus is no museum, however: The magnificent, terraced Lawn, innovative for its time, is a vibrant, accommodating gathering spot today.
Brown University: Brown’s architectural ambitions have not always risen to the level of its academic reputation-at least until February, when Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s transparent (both inside and out) Granoff Center for the Creative Arts was completed. This old-world campus perched above Rhode Island’s capital finally has a building to match its progressive education. Pembroke Hall was the first building for Pembroke College and was built in 1896 from plans by local firm Stone, Carpenter and Willson in the Elizabethan Revival style.
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT): More corporate than collegiate in looks, IIT is a pilgrimage stop for fans of Mies van der Rohe, the former head of the school’s architecture program. The master of International modernism is responsible for the site design as well as for Crown Hall, which sets the tone for the steel-and-glass campus. Even Rem Koolhaas’s 2003 Campus Center, featuring a 530-foot-long steel tube encircling an elevated railway, honors Mies with a 20-foot-tall glass portrait at its entrance.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: The red brick of Alvar Aalto’s massive Baker House dormitory, built in 1949, and Eero Saarinen’s tiny 1955 chapel blend in seamlessly with MIT’s look, but there is nothing conservative about their undulating designs. MIT continues to push the envelope-with mixed results. Frank Gehry’s Stata Center, left, is better known for its leaks than for its wild form, but Steven Holl’s Simmons Hall matches the scale and audacity of Aalto’s design.
Bard College: Opened in 2003, the breathtaking Frank Gehry-designed Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts is one of the college’s most prominent displays of avant-garde architecture with its undulating stainless-steel exterior. Other buildings on campus-including the Ward Manor residence hall-boast Tudor Revival-style looks.
University of Chicago: Designed by architect Henry Ives Cobb of the Chicago School, the genius of University of Chicago Main Quadrangle is in its form-follows-function modernity. From Kent Chemical Laboratory’s large octagonal lecture hall to the observatory atop Ryerson Hall, the graceful buildings are not only visually appealing, but entirely functional as well. Comprised of 215 acres of green space, the Main Quadrangles of the University of Chicago have been officially designated a Botanic Garden by the American Public Garden Association since 1997. However, to only speak of the blooms and flowers on the Quad is to miss what they lie in direct conversation with: the Gothic architecture that defines the University. Praised at the time of their inception, the towering limestone structures of the Main Quadrangles have now fulfilled their roles as the University’s sentinels for more than 100 years and become synonymous with permanence and immortality to generations of students.
Elms College: Designed by John W. Donahue, the official architect of the Diocese of Springfield at the time, Berchmans Hall is a landmark example of the Collegiate Gothic/Neo-Gothic style that proliferated higher education and ecclesiastical buildings in the early decades of the 20th century. Completed in 1932, the new building included offices, modern classrooms and laboratories. The back section contained a gymnasium in the basement and an auditorium on the main floor.
Yale University: On Hillhouse Avenue, one of the finest streets in New Haven, you will find a great collection of historic homes and large institutional landmarks. Adjacent to St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College built this structure, the Mason Laboratory between 1910-1911 for Mechanical Engineering and related departments. The building was designed by architect Charles C. Haight, who was responsible for a number of other Neo-Gothic buildings at Yale. The limestone building properly holds the streetedge and blends in well with its surroundings.
University of New Hampshire (UNH): The centerpiece of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) campus in Durham, is Thompson Hall, a stunning example of Romanesque Revival architecture. Thompson Hall was the first building to be built on the new campus of the New Hampshire College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts, which had been founded in 1866 as a land grant college and was previously located near Dartmouth in Hanover.
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