Welcome to the Archives of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture. The purpose of this online collection is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Rudolph’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.
Some of the materials are in the public domain, some are offered under Creative Commons, and some are owned by others, including the Paul Rudolph Estate. Please speak with a representative of The Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture before using any drawings or photos in the Archives. In all cases, the researcher shall determine how to appropriately publish or otherwise distribute the materials found in this collection, while maintaining appropriate protection of the applicable intellectual property rights.
In his will, Paul Rudolph gave his Architectural Archives (including drawings, plans, renderings, blueprints, models and other materials prepared in connection with his professional practice of architecture) to the Library of Congress Trust Fund following his death in 1997. A Stipulation of Settlement, signed on June 6, 2001 between the Paul Rudolph Estate and the Library of Congress Trust Fund, resulted in the transfer of those items to the Library of Congress among the Architectural Archives, that the Library of Congress determined suitable for its collections. The intellectual property rights of items transferred to the Library of Congress are in the public domain. The usage of the Paul M. Rudolph Archive at the Library of Congress and any intellectual property rights are governed by the Library of Congress Rights and Permissions.
However, the Library of Congress has not received the entirety of the Paul Rudolph architectural works, and therefore ownership and intellectual property rights of any materials that were not selected by the Library of Congress may not be in the public domain and may belong to the Paul Rudolph Estate.
LOCATION
Address: 90 Park Street
City: New Haven
State: Connecticut
Zip Code: 06511
Nation: United States
STATUS
Type: Housing
Status: Built
TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1962-1966
Site Area:
Floor Area: 60’ x 125’
Height: 185’ 8-1/2” (56.60 m)
Floors (Above Ground): 16
Building Cost: USD $1,386,000 (1967) including site work - USD $16.55/s.f. (building only)
PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client: Housing Authority of the City of New Haven
Architect: Paul Rudolph
Associate Architect:
Landscape:
Structural: Milo Ketchum & Partners
MEP: Hubbard, Lawless & Blakely
QS/PM:
SUPPLIERS
Contractor:
Subcontractor(s):
Crawford Manor Housing for the Elderly
The building’s program is to design a 109 residential unit high-rise apartment building for the elderly, made up of 52 efficiency apartments, 52 one-bedroom and 5 two-bedroom units.
The structural system is reinforced concrete columns and flat slab construction. Columns are located in an irregular pattern so they are contained within the wall and do not project into the rooms. The 8” thick floor slab is designed so there are no dropped beams projecting into the rooms.
Thirteen uniquely shaped blocks with vertical ribbed surfaces are custom designed by Rudolph and manufactured for the project. These blocks are later used in other projects such as the John W. Chorley Elementary School.
The building exterior is composed of 175,000 buff-colored fluted precast concrete surfacing to break down the scale of the concrete block, and prevent run-off stains; water is channeled into the interstices while the front of the block is exposed to cleaning. Interior stairs and elevator towers are also finished with the fluted precast concrete units.
The ground breaking ceremony is held on Tuesday, October 20th, 1964 at 11:00am. The event is attended by Mayor Richard C. Lee, Mrs. Mary C. McGuire - Commissioner of the Public Housing Authority, Congressman Robert N. Giaimo, Herman Hillman and Rev. C. Lawson Willard, Jr. - Vice-Chairman of the City of New Haven Housing Authority. A model of the building is on display at the ceremony.
Construction is finished in 1966.
The building is named in honor of George W. Crawford, New Haven’s recently retired corporation council.
The building is listed as a a non-contributing element to the Dwight Street Historic District in 1983.
The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
On February 18, 2020 the Board of Commissioners of the Housing Authority of New Haven/Elm City Communitities (HANH/ECC) unanimously approves a $1.466 million capital investment to upgrade the facility. HANH plans to replace the fire-alarm system and the fire pump. It also plans to modify the entrance vestibule to make it compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The winning bid is issued to North Haven-based Banton Construction Company.
“It is a stalk, a landmark.”
“Is is difficult to think of something new, isn’t it? But if you repeat something often enough it is not so hard to think about. It’s the same with corners: if you repeat them often enough, they are not so hard to build. In fact, the floor plan of most of these apartments is the same, only rotated around the core, once the pattern is established, continuing it is easy.
The same principle applies to our thinking on the size of bays. Everyone assumes that all the bays should be the same size. This is not necessarily so. At Crawford Manor, the bays are varied to differentiate the different kinds of spaces they span.”
“I wanted daylight in the elevator entry. This is very unusual. The adjacent space was also to be big enough for people to sit and chat in groups of a dozen or so on each floor. Howeever, perhaps it would have been better to take those 16 separate spaces and put them up on the roof, where we originally had plans for TV and recreational rooms. The latter were cut due to the budget.”
“The understanding and help of local and Federal officials for public housing, an exceptional mayor, and a good site, permitted this most difficult exercise in the economics of building to be fulfilled. The vertical thrust of the piers balanced by the axis of balconies at 90° angles to each other gives this building a sense of restrained, dynamic energy. The utilization of a special precast block for all exterior surfaces breaks down the scale of the building, enables it to weather well and helps to keep the building within the stringent economic limits imposed on public housing in the United States.”
DRAWINGS - Design Drawings / Renderings
DRAWINGS - Construction Drawings
DRAWINGS - Shop Drawings
PHOTOS - Project Model
PHOTOS - During Construction
PHOTOS - Completed Project
PHOTOS - Current Conditions
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
Crawford Manor on Emporis
New Haven Modern website by the New Haven Preservation Trust
RELATED DOWNLOADS
PROJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Rohan, Timothy. The Architecture of Paul Rudolph. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Univ. Press, 2014.
Macsai, John. Housing. 2nd ed. New York: John Wiley, 1982. il., plans, pp. 390-391.
“Crawford Manor housing for the elderly.” il. plan. Architecture and Urbanism 80 (July 1977): 92-95.
“Chronological list of works by Paul Rudolph, 1946-1974.” il., plan. Architecture and Urbanism 49 (January 1975): 159.
Cook, John Wesley. Conversation With Architects. New York: Praeger, 1973. il. pp. 118-120.
New Architecture in New Haven. Revised ed. Cambridge: M.I.T., 1973. il., plan. pp. 8-9.
Venturi, Robert. “Ugly and ordinary architecture or the decorated shed.” il., plan. Architectural Forum 135 (November 1971): 64-67.
Spade, Rupert, ed. Paul Rudolph. London: Thames and Hudson, 1971.
Rudolph, P. and Moholy-Nagy, S. The Architecture of Paul Rudolph. New York: Praeger, 1970.
Scully, Vincent Joseph. American Architecture and Urbanism. New York: Praeger, 1969. il. pp. 204, 246-248.
“Implied spaces.” il., plan. Architectural Review 142 (September 1967): 172.
“Edifice per anziani, New Haven.” il., plans. Architettura 13 (July 1967): 184-185.
Middleton, Robin. “Disintegration.” il., plan. Architectural Design 37 (May 1967): 203-204.
“Crawford Manor public housing, New Haven, Connecticut.” il., plans, sec., diags. Progressive Architecture 48 (May 1967): 124-129.
“Alterwohnungen Crawford Manor in New Haven, USA.” il., plan. Werk 54 (March 1967): 125-129.
“Immeuble d’habitation a New Haven, Connecticut.” il., plan. Architecture D’Aujourd’hui 130 (February-March 1967): 38-39.
“Rudolf: balconate per anziani.” il. Architettura 12 (July 1966): 188.
“Balcolnies for the elderly.” il. Architectural Forum 124 (March 1966): 57.
Metz, Don. New Architecture in New Haven. Cambridge: M.I.T., 1966. il., plan. pp. 70-71.