2024-05-07T08:03:41-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/145510875/renovation-of-kahn-s-richards-labs-pleases-both-scientists-and-architects Amelia Taylor-Hochberg 2016-01-12T13:05:00-05:00 >2016-01-18T02:31:47-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/0u/0uylvxax7f63n3re.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>The renovation has pared Kahn's spaces down to their essence, restoring a Zenlike calm, and revealing the muscular concrete structure that made the design such a revelation in the early 1960s, when International Style glass towers were all the rage. As Kahn, who was known for his mystical pronouncements, might say, Richards has become the building it always wanted to be.</p></em><br /><br /><p>The renovation was led by Penn's university architect, David Hollenberg, who oversaw <a href="http://www.pennconnects.upenn.edu/find_a_project/alphabetical/richards_medical_research_labs_alpha/richards_medical_research_labs_overview.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a host of architects</a>&nbsp;working on the complex's four towers, including: <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/3090592/eyp-architecture-engineering" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">EYP</a>, Urban Engineers, Keast &amp; Hood, Bruce Brooks &amp; Assoc., and&nbsp;<a href="http://archinect.com/aosarchitects/project/richards-medical-research-laboratory-renovations" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Atkin Olshin Schade</a>.&nbsp;Hollenberg also suggested Penn nominate the building for National Historic Landmark Status, which it achieved in 2009, complicating the renovation significantly.</p><p>More from Kahn's legacy:</p><ul><li><a title="Works by Le Corbu and Louis Kahn in Ahmedabad left off historic conservation list" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/129719489/works-by-le-corbu-and-louis-kahn-in-ahmedabad-left-off-historic-conservation-list" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Works by Le Corbu and Louis Kahn in Ahmedabad left off historic conservation list</a></li><li><a title="In-depth Louis Kahn exhibition opening at London&rsquo;s Design Museum on July 9" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/103655820/in-depth-louis-kahn-exhibition-opening-at-london-s-design-museum-on-july-9" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">In-depth Louis Kahn exhibition opening at London&rsquo;s Design Museum on July 9</a></li><li><a title="Decades Later, a Vision Survives" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/57162368/decades-later-a-vision-survives" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Decades Later, a Vision Survives</a></li><li><a title="The Artist in the Architect" href="http://archinect.com/news/article/10731972/the-artist-in-the-architect" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Artist in the Architect</a></li><li><a title='Louis Kahn&rsquo;s "Lost" Renderings Now Under Construction' href="http://archinect.com/news/article/102944/louis-kahn-s-lost-renderings-now-under-construction" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Louis Kahn&rsquo;s "Lost" Renderings Now Under Construction</a></li></ul>