Richards wins Docomomo Modernism in America Award
AOS and EYP's multiphase restoration of Louis Kahn's historic Richards Medical Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania has been awarded a Citation of Merit by Docomomo US.
Although one of the most conceptually advanced buildings of Kahn’s career, the Richards Medical Laboratory was plagued with functional issues from the start, including planning problems based on the size of floor plates, lack of adequate systems flexibility, and glare from the oversized windows. Key to the technically challenging renovation was transforming the primary use of the building from wet-lab research to dry-lab, computationally intensive uses. The building’s windows were replaced with high-performance laminated glass identical in appearance to the original glazing, a solution that balances building performance with conservation.
The Docomomo jury remarked that “the designers grappled with tough questions: What do you do with a problematic building greater in concept than execution? What should be ‘preserved’? We will face these questions again and the results here are valuable to study.” Jury chair Kim Yao praised the project for its “integration of systems and technology while respecting the character of the existing, rigid structure and retaining character-defining features.”
To learn more about our ambitious work on the modern architectural icon, check out our short documentary, Richards Reborn: Restoring a National Historic Landmark.