Close-up of the Kresge Auditorium,
This structure was designed by Eero Saarinen in 1955. The design was a thin shelled concrete structure. This design allows the structure to be supported on only 3 points. Did you know that the green copper cladding on the roof is not original? The copper was applied to the structure during a renovation in the 1980s. The copper was actually what Saarinen wanted, but no one at the time could figure out how to attach the material to the structure. The Auditorium was intended as a type of university meeting hall, those words being, in fact, inscribed over the entrance. Its domed roof is exactly one-eighth of a sphere. The auditorium is defined by an elegant thin-shell structure of reinforced concrete, one-eighth of a sphere rising to a height of 50 feet, and sliced away by sheer glass curtain walls so that it comes to earth on only three points. Thin-shelled concrete technology was innovative for the times. The dome weighs only 1200 tons and is currently clad with copper. It was originally covered with smooth, bright, orastone[further explanation needed] which was then replaced with lead sheeting attached with stainless steel wires. In 1980, cracks were found in the supporting structure and the auditorium was closed immediately for repairs. Copper replaced the lead at that time. Sitting on a circular red brick platform, the dome contains a concert hall (with seating for 1226 people), plus a lower level that houses a small theater (seating 204), two rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, offices, bathrooms, and lounges. The main stage is paneled with warm-colored vertical wood elements that echo the vertical glass panels of the building's facade. The concert hall also contains a Holtkamp acoustic pipe organ, whose pipes visually resonate as a sequence of vertical elements of varying heights. The opening ceremony in 1955 featured that organ, including a piece of music that was commissioned for the event, Aaron Copland's Canticle of Freedom
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Kresge Auditorium, 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Photo credit: © John Gaffen 2 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 48, 1955, architect, architecture, auditorium, avenue, cambridge, close-, concrete, copper, dome, eero, kresge, massachusetts, massachusetts., reinforced, roof, saarinen
