Greene Building

Introduction

The Greene building is a five-story building home to the School of Architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It is located between the Jonsson Engineering Center and Lally Hall, and was constructed from 1930 to 1931. This building was created with the purpose of housing the school of architecture and still follows that purpose today.

History

The school of architecture was first established in 1929. It had no particular campus building, so as the school grew in popularity and funding it was allowed to expand. Ralph Gulley came to Rensselaer as a professor of architecture in 1930 and would ultimately be the one to approve and manage the construction of the Greene building. At the age of 27, he became the first dean of the school of architecture. Following this, Joseph Lawlor was hired as the architect for construction of the building, and Ralph Gulley provided consultation on its design.

Architecture

The building was 165 feet in plan, and was constructed along the south line of campus, adjacent to the athletic field. Harvard brick along with limestone trimmings were used as the primary building material. Above the second-story windows, the names of 15 of the most renowned, deceased American architects at the time were cut in stone: Bulfinch, Burnham, Goodhue, Hooker, Hunt, Jefferson, Latrobe, McComb, McIntyre, McKim, Mills, Renwick, Richardson, Sullivan, and Upjohn. Named after Benjamin Franklin Greene, the Director of Rensselaer from 1847 to 1859, the Greene building was constructed using money accumulated in the Bankers Trust Fund. The cost was $400,000, worth over $7 million today.

Use Over Time

Originally, the three upper floors of the building were dedicated to the architectural department, while the first two stories had general classrooms. There was also basement usage, claimed by Navy ROTC.

As the school of architecture at RPI grew, it expanded to take up all of the Greene building. It is still growing quickly as a comparatively new discipline.

Today, the fourth floor is dedicated to freshman studios, while various other studio rooms are located throughout the third, second, and first floor. The basement now houses a small fabrication shop which contains laser cutters, a milling suite, 3D printers, and a robotics lab. In addition, the basement and mezzanine contain offices for various faculty members.

Unlike the other schools at RPI, the school of architecture is the only school to have a dedicated library. Located on the third floor, the architecture library contains over 30,000 books and periodicals, as well as 100,000-plus slides.

References

https://www.rpi.edu/magazine/fall2005/archives.html

https://archives.rpi.edu/institute-history/building-histories/greene-building