The Roundhouse: A Convergence of Politics, Planning, Design, Engineering and Construction Technology
April 8, 2021 |
The Philadelphia Police Headquarters, the Roundhouse, was designed by Geddes Brecher Qualls and Cunningham and completed in 1961. It is less than monumental in scale but represents one of the most important midcentury concrete buildings in the USA. The Roundhouse is the product of an exceptional convergence of politics, planning, design, engineering, and construction technology, unique to Philadelphia at the start of the sixth decade of the 20th century. The Roundhouse was at the forefront of liberating concrete architecture from the constraints of labor heavy, difficult to manage in situ construction and demonstrated the vast array of new possibilities for architectural expression in concrete. The period of architectural and engineering experimentation in concrete and advancements in precasting technology between the mid-1950s and the mid-1980s produced a sea change. The Roundhouse was one of the first buildings that tested and demonstrated the new possibilities of architectural precasting.This presentation will place the Roundhouse in a local, national, and international context. It will reveal what makes the siting, design, engineering, and construction of the Roundhouse special and worthy of conservation and continued use. Finally, it will suggest approaches to future use that integrate the significance of the Roundhouse into a constructive and productive future.
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Website:
www.design.upenn.edu/historic-preservation/events/roundhouse-convergence-politics-planning-design-engineering-and |
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| Location Information |
210 South 34th St.
115 Meyerson Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6311 |
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| Contact Information |
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Micah Dornfeld |
| Email:
pennhspv@design.upenn.edu |
| Phone:
215-898-3169 |
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