A+A
I was just in New Haven this past weekend – visiting the old haunts – including the newly renovated A+A (love it or hate it?). The old corrugated monster looks great: the super Rudolph section is now freed and legible, the furniture is new. I couldn’t believe, though, how pale the new History of Art building was in comparison. While the Rudolph building can almost handle being adhered to – it’s strong enough – the poor little Yale Daily News building is completely overwhelmed. The joints between the two (three?) buildings are handled with a complete lack of grace, and the details (window mullions, materiality of the façade) feel tinny compared to the concrete and masonry gravitas of its neighbors. It’s easy to be a critic, it’s true, but it’s hard to imagine that this is a building that will age well.
Christina