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Encyclopedia > Kresge Auditorium
Kresge Auditorium from rear, looking toward I. M. Pei's Green Building.
Kresge Auditorium from rear, looking toward I. M. Pei's Green Building.
Roof detail.
Roof detail.
Interior view, with the MIT Summer Philharmonic Orchestra.
Interior view, with the MIT Summer Philharmonic Orchestra.

Kresge Auditorium is an auditorium building for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the noted architect Eero Saarinen, with ground-breaking in 1953 and dedication in 1955. It was designed together with the MIT Chapel, the two buildings separated by a "green." The ensemble is recognized as one of the best examples of mid-Century modern architecture in the US. Though unassuming by today's standards, the buildings were part of an attempt to define MIT's social cohesion. The Auditorium was where MIT students and faculty could gather for formal events, the chapel was intended for marriages and memorial; the green that stretches between the two buildings, in the tradition of early-American urban planning, was to serve as the setting for civic events. Though the campus has grown around the buildings, the essential features of this idea are still easily legible. The building was named for its principal funder, Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of Kresge Stores and the Kresge Foundation. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1683, 872 KB) Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1683, 872 KB) Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... The Louvre Pyramid, Paris Ieoh Ming Pei (Chinese: 貝聿銘; Pinyin: Bèi Yùmíng; b. ... Green Building, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1047 KB) Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1047 KB) Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1007 KB) Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1007 KB) Kresge Auditorium, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private, coeducational research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Massachusetts Avenue is the name shared by several prominent streets in the United States, located in Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, D.C.; and Lawrence, Kansas. ... Location in Massachusetts Coordinates: , Country United States State Massachusetts County Middlesex County Settled 1630 Incorporated 1636 Government  - Type Mayor-council city  - Mayor Kenneth Reeves (D) Area  - City  7. ... An architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person who is involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... Saarinens Gateway Arch frames The Old Courthouse, which sits at the heart of the city of Saint Louis, near the rivers edge. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Exterior. ... Mid-Century modern is an architectural, interior and product design form that generally describes post-war developments in modern design from roughly 1949 to 1965. ... Sebastian Spering Kresge (July 31, 1867 – October 18, 1966), American merchant and philanthropist, was the founder of the S.S. Kresge Company, now known as Kmart Corporation. ... The Kresge Foundation is U.S. philanthropic foundation dedicated to building stronger nonprofit organizations. ...


The auditorium is defined by an elegant thin-shell structure, one-eighth of a sphere rising to a height of 50 feet, and sliced away by sheer glass walls so that it comes to earth on only three points. Thin shelled concrete technology was innovative for the times. The dome weighs only 1200 tons and is clad with copper. Sitting on a circular brick platform, the dome contains a concert hall (with seating for 1226 people), with a lower level that houses a small theater (seating 204), two rehearsal rooms, dressing rooms, offices, bathrooms, and lounges. The concert hall also contains a Holtkamp organ. The opening ceremony in 1955, that featured the organ, included a pice of music that was commissioned for the event, Aaron Copland's "Canticle of Freedom." The worlds first double curvature lattice steel Shell by V.G.Shukhov (during construction), Vyksa near Nizhny Novgorod, 1897 Thin-shell structures can be defined as curved structures capable of transmitting loads in more than two directions to supports. ... A sphere is a symmetrical geometrical object. ... A Concert hall is a cultural building, which serves as performance venue, chiefly for classical instrumental music. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music, as well as an accomplished pianist. ...


Every seat in concert hall has an unobstructed view since there are no interior supports for the overarching dome. Working with renowned acoustical architects Bolt, Beranek and Newman, Saarinen employed free-hanging acoustic "clouds" that absorb and direct sound, instead of a traditional plaster ceiling. These clouds also contained lights, loudspeakers, and ventilation. Acoustics is a branch of physics and is the study of sound, mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids. ... BBN Technologies (originally Bolt Beranek and Newman) is a high technology company that provides research and development services. ... A loudspeaker is a device which converts an electrical signal into sound. ... Return inlet (left)Supply outlet (right). ...


While standing on either side of the entry lobby, one can distinctly hear people on the other side speaking in as low a voice as a whisper. A lobby is a room in a building which is used for entry from the outside. ... Look up Whisper in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...


Reference

http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/saarinen/


See also

Exterior. ... A Concert hall is a cultural building, which serves as performance venue, chiefly for classical instrumental music. ... The worlds first double curvature lattice steel Shell by V.G.Shukhov (during construction), Vyksa near Nizhny Novgorod, 1897 Thin-shell structures can be defined as curved structures capable of transmitting loads in more than two directions to supports. ... Building 7 (77 Massachusetts Ave. ...

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