Rudolph, Paul Marvin, 1918–97, American modernist architect, b. Elkton, Ky. Rudolph taught at several universities and served as chair of the Yale architecture department from 1958–65. He was one of the most influential American architects of the mid-20th cent., creating buildings that were often characterized by boldly contrasting masses, complexly interlocking spaces, and innovative surfaces. He designed the Jewett Art Center (1959) at Wellesley College, the Greeley (Colo.) Forestry Building (1959), the Government Service Center in Boston (1963), and the famous Brutalist-style Art and Architecture Building (1964, now Paul Rudolph Hall) at Yale. His other works include the Earl Brydges Memorial Library in Niagara Falls, N.Y. (1970–75), and the Burroughs Wellcome corporate headquarters, Durham, N.C. (1970, now the Elion-Hitchings Building) and the Chapel at the Chandler School of Theology (1979) in Atlanta. He also designed many residences in Sarasota, Fla. and townhouses in Manhattan, e.g., his own home, a cantilevered quadruplex at 23 Beekman Place. Many of his highly spatial later commissions of the 1980s were in Southeast Asia, e.g., Beach Road II, Singapore (1981–82), the Dharmala office building, Jakarta (1986), and the Bond Centre, Hong Kong (1987, now the Lippo Centre).
See his book on architecture (1970); S. Moholy-Nagy, The Architecture of Paul Rudolph (1970); T. Monk, The Art and Architecture of Paul Rudolph (1999); E. Stoller, The Yale Art & Architecture Building (1999); R. De Alba, Paul Rudolph: The Late Work (2003); C. Domin and J. King, Paul Rudolph: The Florida Houses (2006); C. Mottalini, After You Left/They Took It Apart: Demolished Paul Rudolph Homes (2013) T. M. Rohan, The Architecture of Paul Rudolph (2014).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Architecture: Biographies
