{"nrhp_refnum":"09000081","name":"Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Laboratories and David Goddard Laboratories Buildings","other_names":["Biology Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"33700-3710 Hamilton Walk, University of Pennsylvania","address_restricted":false,"city":"Philadelphia","county":"Philadelphia","state":"PA","lat":39.94949674800006,"lon":-75.1980892518817,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-01-16","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"2009-01-16","areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two connected laboratory and classroom buildings and their designed landscape setting on the southern part of the University of Pennsylvania campus in West Philadelphia, designed by Louis I. Kahn and completed in stages between 1957 and 1965.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the buildings are one of the most important works of Louis I. Kahn and an early full expression of his ideas, including the organization of buildings into 'servant' and 'served' spaces, the expression of structure in masonry and concrete, and a response to historic context. It states that contemporaries immediately recognized the design as an alternative to International Modernism, and that the project qualifies as nationally significant under the 50-year exception because its importance was recognized before completion.","narrative":"Two connected laboratory and classroom buildings on the University of Pennsylvania campus in West Philadelphia, designed by Louis I. Kahn and built between 1957 and 1965 with a landscaped setting of brick plazas and steps. The Alfred Newton Richards Medical Research Laboratories were planned through the Medical School and the David Goddard Laboratories through the School of Arts and Sciences, and the two were designed as a single project. Their exteriors express the separation of 'served' laboratory towers from 'servant' service volumes, and the Vierendeel structural system of the served spaces is visible from outside, with exposed reinforced concrete, concrete block and brick. Contemporary critics saw the design as a direct alternative to the glass-box International Modernism then dominant, and placed Kahn among major American architects. The project was celebrated in architectural journals in 1959 and 1960 for its precast concrete and technical innovations. Its significance is regarded as having grown since completion, and the buildings retain a high degree of integrity in their key design features.","period_of_significance":"1957-1965","architect_builder":"Kahn, Louis Isadore (1901-1974)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"The document states the buildings continue to serve their original program purposes, with Richards occupied by research laboratories and Goddard housing research and teaching laboratories, offices and classrooms.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:30.749169-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/09000081_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000081/bb82099fd6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000081/bb82099fd6-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Smallbones","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richards_Labs_Penn.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallbones</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richards_Labs_Penn.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71994277","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richards_Medical_Research_Laboratories","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q954769"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/alfred-newton-richards-medical-research-laboratories-and-david-goddard-laborator-09000081/"}