Greene Building

Introduction

Located between the Jonsson Engineering Center and Lally Hall, the Greene building is a five-story building home to the School of Architecture.

History

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, around $7,466,591 in today's money. The school's current Dean is Evan Douglis.

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.

when the school of architecture was first established, the three upper floors of the building were dedicated to the architectural department, while the first two stories had general classrooms. The basement was used by Navy ROTC.

Today

Open 24 hours a day, the fourth floor is dedicated to the first year studios, while various other studio rooms are located throughout the third, second, and first floor. The basement houses the small fabrication shop. The shop 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.