Richards Medical Research Laboratories

The Richards Labs are composed of a group of connected vertical volumes whose interior functions are expressed by differing exterior treatments.  The laboratories are marked by corner windows, and supported and separated by cantilevered structural, pre‑cast concrete beams, and horizontal bands of brick veneer.  The mechanical and circulation functions of the building are contained in tall brick‑faced towers rising above laboratory sections.Now a National Historic Landmark in American architecture emphasizing functional and structural expression, Richards re‑established the crafting of architectural form as the chief aesthetic tool of the architect.  In this crucial and innovative design, Kahn turned his profession back toward the formal complications lost in International Modernism, reviving the richness which had been so much a part of the tradition of Philadelphia architecture.  This is one of the most important buildings on the Penn campus, by one of the most important architects of the modern era.