ARCHITECTURE
PITTSBURGH
AT
THE
SERVICE
OF
INDUSTRIAL
HISTORY
MUSEUM
P R OP O SA
L
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Reauirements For the Degree of
Master of Architecture at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology June 1982
August G. Schaefer 1982 B. A., Dartmouith College 1976 The Author hereby grants to M.I.T. permission to
reproduce and distribute publicly copies of this thesis document in whole or in part.
Signature of Author
Certified by
Dep Aent of rchitecture
March 10, 1982
(
Imre Halsz, Professor of Architecture Thesis Supervisor
Accepted byg0-j
Professor Edward Robbins, Chairman
MASSACHUSETS NTITUTepartmental Comrittee for Graduate Students
JUL 271982
LIBRARES
A
DE S IG
N
THE PITTSBURGH INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM
AUGUST G. SCHAEFER
Submitted to the Deartment of Architecture on March 10, 1982, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture
ABSTPACT
Colonial stronghold, gateway to the west, forge and hearth for the industrial growth of the United States, the City of Pittsburgh, like few others, lays strong
claim to prominence in all eras of the nation's development.
The thesis is a design proposal for a museum facility in which to exhibit a
collection of artifacts and documents of that particular heritage, a place in which
the city' s people and visitors will be informed of the roles Pittsburgh has played in the history of the country. The objective is to create a center which not only
provides a home for research and display, but which also communicates the public
nature of its offerings. It is, therefore, a proposal to study the manner in which
architecture both specifically and emblematically contributes to cultural and his-torical understanding.
It is my thesis that with care, a building can be designed which both in form and content creates an environment organizing perceptions of history. The intent
lies in a means of defining the potential for architecture to strenathen memories of particular civic interest.
Thesis Supervisor: Imre Halasz
r
3
As I draw to a close on this project it occurs
to me that it is, as with all things, a beginning, the extent of an idea or set of ideas for which my enthusiasm has never diminished.
These interests all coalesce around a fundamen-tal theme, that of city life and the acknowledgements of the events which form a metropolitan centre such as Pittsburgh, by the people who now consider it their hame.
It is a place of raw, natural beauty, which in a
curious and poetic way has proved its resiliance
against the constant development which has taken place
there since the settling of Fort Duquesne by French colonials in 1758. If anything is cononly known of its history, it is in the development of heavy indus-try in the latter half of the 19th century; a time of brutal working conditions for the poor, advancement of laissez-faire capitalism for the rich and the esca-lation of America to world power status. All of that history was, in some sense, played out in Pittsburgh where a growing metropolis mined the forests and
spread factories mile after mile upon the banks of its rivers. It was rapacious development with not a
thought given to the future either of its people or
its physical environment, holding within its realm
iconography of industrial architecture caronly seen along its riverbanks.
It is
the goal of the thesis to synthesize these three objectives, providing an
access-ible, understandable design.
What one describes, as a result, is nothing so literally identifiable as a
Pittsburgh architecture, rather an architecture which takes notice of regional
con-ditions,
both formal and natural, as a basis for design so that in
same
ways one
can see Pittsburgh in it.
In its fullness architecture comes to act in deference
to, and as definition of its physical, cultural and historical circumstances.
SITE
AND
PROJECT
DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The thesis presented here has been worked out in conjunction with the Pitts-burgh History & Landmarks Foundation (PHLF) , a non-profit organization established, in large part, to preserve the city's heritage. Since 1972, they have operated a small museum in a restored post office on the city's Northside, where due to space
limitations only a portion of their full holdings are on display. The balance is
presently stored in a warehouse. It is the interest of this organization to
relo-cate its museum, more than doubling its present size.
The Foundation encouraged my speculation by outlining their interests and re-quirements for a new building. It was my decision to use these projections as the
basis for design work, and to present a set of drawings contributing ideas and
images toward the formulation of the actual facility.
OBJECTIVES
The particular considerations leading to the formulation of the building are
as follows: first, that the artifacts and displays be orchestrated in such a way as to suggest relationships as directly as possible, between Pittsburgh's
indus-trial, cultural and carmercial development, secondly, that the building itself seek a specific formal relationship with the city, and finally, that the design add a
Situated directly across from the downtown business district, the museum site is separated fram it by the Monongahela River, a broad waterway, steely gray in
color, coursing slowly through the heart of the city to join the Allegheny in form-ing the headwaters of the Ohio. The property, part of a 40 acre carmercial
devel-opmrent on an abandoned railway yard, is itself a featureless plane built up over
the years by landfill to the height of twenty feet, and held from the waters edge by a railroad right-of-way forming the crest of the river embankment. Seasonal
flooding has made use of the waters edge inipossible. At the properties opposite
edge lies a major cormuter road, another set of tracks and there upon ccnmences a thickly wooded, uninhabitable bluff sare 400 feet high, to a point above from which one has a panoramic view of the city; a view shared fram a different perspec-tive by the structure below.
The major task in the formulation of the museum design was the ability of finding the most resolute means of fixing the building in environs so dominated by starkly contrasting natural features.
Seen at a distance, from the city's highway lanes and office towers, the mus-eum stands out, brightly colored against the darker bluff. The long horizontal
face which frames seven identical bays, breaks slightly from the wall surface in
the eighth bay then steps back to join the taller gallery block to the right. The facade is effectively divided into two parts. A third element superimposed there
pulls the two masses together. It will be recognized, in somewhat abstracted form as a signal tower of the type constructed along the railroad yards in the area.
The long vault set on the roof of the lower section pays tribute to the train shed. The use of motifs taken fran industrial architecture acknowledge the comon-ness of its place in the physical environment, as well as its appropriatecomon-ness in
the design of a structure dedicated to its preservation.
The actual approach to the museum fran the south reveals the building, at
first, obliquily through a screen of trees lining the road. The structure presents a more intimate face, a bit contradictory perhaps, certainly more of an assemblage of forms and materials than its river elevation. The large aluminum letters and
glass clerestory space shift the focus of attention fran the mass of the building to a point where the public entrance is located. The curved shed roof notes the larger space inside.
The four story gallery block is samewhat more restrained, presenting a smooth plane curving gently to the left. The exterior surface is masonary, camposed of
iron-spot brick of brown-orange hue set between bands of limestone coursing, alter-nate bands corresponding to the interior floor elevations. The administrative en-trance is recessed slightly behind a glass curtain wall which itself is set back to emphasize the flatness of the camposition. A berm to the left of the entry exposes the basement level offices to sunlight. Immediately to the right of the doors is a full scale logo of the Foundation operating the museum. 'Iwo groups of three windows set into the wall on the second floor indicate the more private functions taking place there; in turn on the left, the lounge area of the archive and on the right,
the members' room. The large matching windows at the top again recessed from the front surface, are set slightly above eye level on the third floor, providing nat-ural light into the two story gallery, as well as a view out to the bluff rising high above the building. A series of brightly enameled metal tiles form a cornice
across the building, screening the mechanical roam on the fourth floor. A narrow
balcony at the same level allows the visitor to step out of doors.
Based on the initial projections of the client PHIF, it was apparent that there was a need to provide a range of display areas which could acccrnodate the variety of objects in their purvue. The major requirement lay with the collection of transportation vehicles, demanding a sizeable envelope of space to be viewed in
full. Furthermore, the weight and lack of maneuverability of the cars and loccmo-tives recommended that they be fixed in place on a heavy concrete pad at ground
level. The goal was, in a sense, to display the trains in an environment recreating
5
in part the feelings associated with rail travel, and so toward this end the cars
have been -set in rows of two and three under a vaulted rodf, supported by deep
steel trusses.
The use of the rail shed morphology, not inappropriate to the
set-ting of other industrial artifacts, thus became the main organizing space around
which the galleries are located.
The balance of the ground floor provides a large
uninterrupted floor area with 17 foot ceilings housing other rail cars, streetcars,
carriages and river boats.
Set toward the north wall is a round transfer table
with access through a service door and track to the outside.
It is conceived as a
place possibly for the teporary display of a single train or vehicle on- loan frn
another institution, and can be decked over to accamodate a permanent display.
The visitor thus enters fram under cover of the exterior portico, through the
front doors, buys a pass and sees before him, broadside, a series of trains headed
by a 'barrel-type' locamotive in a fashion as if he had paid for a ticket to travel
to some distant city. Moving on, he steps out fram under the balcony into the hall
which indicates by its dimensions and materials that he might yet not be 'inside'.
On his right is another set of trains, in front the round table with other vehicles
set off to one side, and at his left, a grand staircase carrying him to the upper
galleries.
The mezzanine is orqanized by means of an ambulatory around the Hall of
Trans-portation, giving further resolution to the primary space within the irregular
con-figuration of the plan.
The path of circulation cuts across the corner of the vault
and becames itself an area for display by means of a series of shallow niches set
into the wall containing wooden cases and wall panels.
The central bay is left
open to allow the visitor, to lean out over the floor below, before turning in
tow-ard the largest of the buildings galleries extending the full length of its
north-ern face.
The floor area enclosed is intended to provide maximum flexibility,
which could be subdivided by panels for visiting and rotating exhibits, or
perma-nent display of large scale objects, such as industrial machinery.
The ceiling is
twelve feet in height, columns being set on a grid twenty by twenty-four feet.
Flat slab construction would permit the heaviest of artifacts to be placed there.
Continuing around to the east, the building extends out over the ramp below,
providing additional display area as an extension of the major space, again
allow-ing for internal subdivision of bays dependallow-ing on the character of the exhibits.
Turning back along the hall to the south, the corridor opens up to the vaulted area
over the entrance, before returning to the staircase.
The hallway imediately
room, as well as elevator core and access to the floor above.
The third and fourth floor are well reduced in size. With few windows, and proportions suggesting more roam-like spaces, the upper two levels offer a quiet
re-treat into galleries containing smaller, more intimate displays. Their orientation
to the rest of the museum is completed by means of a hallway running along the short
end of the shed. On the north face, the exterior wall has been turned at an angle,
providing a small platform with a dramatic view of the city across the river. A
spiral staircase housed within a glass canopy to the right, pulls the museum guest
'outside' the building before descending back to the mezzanine.
The building could, of course, be traversed in several ways. The description provided above indicates the range and character of its most important spaces and suggests a certain processional quality in their relationship to one another. The route of circulation is at times within a gallery, or becames a gallery in its own
right. Internal organization of a facility such as this rests with the ability of providing a structured space not so specific as to be inflexible yet implying a
sequence of events marking a rhythm which draw the visitor fram one area to the next.
On the right, views of the site from the river and base of the bluff.
PROGRAM
7
INFORMATION
Basement Storage Mechanical Office Ground Floor Auditorium (120 seats) Coats Bath Ticket/Sales Administration Load Dock Lobby Display vault area (9,600) Second Floor Library Members Room Special Gallery Gallery AGen'l. Gallery (flex.)
Storage Arcade display Terrace Clerestory display Third Floor Gallery B Long Gallery Storage Fourth Floor Gallery C Gallery D Mechanical Basement Ground Floor Second Floor Third Floor Fourth Floor Lot area 160,000 sq. ft. F.A.R. ~=.6 Sq. Ft. 3,200 2,800 2,000 1,530 180 420 500 2,650 750 900 25,200 2, 700 300 1,700 3,600 11,050 600 2,700 500 1,200 4,000 7,200 400 '4
Bessemer converter, used in the pro-duction of steel, restored and
in-stalled in 1979.
Over the years PHLF has assembled a large collection of artifacts, including a library of original prints and photographs, special collections of toys and cos-tumes, victorian hame furnishings and stained glass. They have reconstructed and restored entire roams of demolished mansions and saved facades of others, assem-bling an enormous quantity of artifacts of architectural and cultural merit. The city has donated objects of interest from demolition projects such as bridge sculp-tures, lamp standards, terra-cotta cornices and decorative reliefs, railings and
signage. Mid-western railroad lines maintain private yards in which are stored
locamotives, cars and cabooses of historical importance. Scme have already offered
to turn these vehicles over to the Foundation, which has already accepted a small number of street cars and machinery related to turn of the century public trans-port. Industry has its own well-organized resources. Each of the major private
corporations has an archive chronicling its history. These records, which include correspondence, photographs and models, form a revealing document about the city's
development and unfortunately, are rarely made accessible to the public. It is
felt that companies involved in the major areas of interest such as steel, glass,
aluminum, chemicals and food processing would make extensive contributions to the collection. All of which indicates the substantial resources from which the mus-eum could draw to form the nucleus of its own presentations.
4,000 3,900 500 Gross 12,100 32,200 29,600 15, 000 7,650 96,600 sq. ft. Net 8,000 30,100 24,350 11, 600 6,100 80,200 sq. ft. Parking 200 cars
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'J4-UTT I N / ~PROPOSED
SITE
PLAN
The specifications for the development of the property included on grade park-ing capacity for at least 200 cars, a bus lane and shelter, and the continuation of a tree-lined access road through the site, dividing it into two unequal sections. Ansasement for the construction of a pedestrian ramp below the railroad tracks to the rivers edge removed a swath of land thirty feet wide further reducing the act-ual buildable area along the waterfront.
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Preliminary design sketches showing section through vault, plans and details.
Preliminary elevation studies.
77
