LL 2 9 THE RACKHAM BUILDING ............................. 4blr xwH THE BUILDING OF THE HORACE H. RACKHAM SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES -- THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 1938 MAIN ENTRANCF ( #4-D THE HORACE H. RACKHAM SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES T HE University conferred its first advanced degree, the Master of Arts, in 1849. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy was granted in 1876. In 1892 a separate graduate department was organized in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. Establishment of a separate School in 1912 emphasized the importance of concentrated, independent study and the growing significance of training in all phases of the search for the essentials of human welfare. General control of standards of instruction, of research, and of training at the graduate level is vested in the Executive Board of the School, an appointive board. Special regulations and requirements are under the direction of the sixty or more departments or units of instruction. These work in close relationship with the Board through their special faculty committees on graduate study. By means of a divisional grouping of subjects, departments, and units, seven special committees representing physical, biological, medical, and social studies, language [7] THE RACKHAM BUILDING and literature, the fine arts, and the museums review and report to the Board on all research projects needing special funds. The School handles its own records; controls admission of graduate students; appoints to scholarships and fellowships; determines admission to candidacy for advanced degrees; and recommends students on completion of prescribed studies to the Regents who confer the degrees. The School has no separate faculty. Its Board approves all courses carrying graduate credit, however, and scrutinizes carefully the qualifications of staff members offering such courses. Through its supervision of special funds designated for research purposes, it also encourages the prosecution of research. ENDOWMENTS FOR THE GRADUATE SCHOOL The outstanding event of the year 1935 was the permanent endowment of the Graduate School through an unusually munificent gift from the Horace H. Rackham and Mary A. Rackham Fund. This first endowment, consisting of a site for the building, the building and furnishings, and a capital sum of four million dollars, supplements materially the resources of the University. The Trustees of the Fund in endowing the School thus generously did so in the belief that systematic [8 ] ENDOWMENTS investigation and study would best further the purposes of the founder of the Fund; moreover, they were convinced that such research could most profitably be pursued within the University. In the words of Mr. Rackham, "For the benefit of mankind," the endowment and building are presented to the people of Michigan as a part of their University. In recognition of this gift the name of the graduate unit of the University was changed to The Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies. The Fund transferred two years later an additional million to the School. The income for a period of five years is to be devoted to studies in the prevention, cure, and mitigation of arthritis. Decision to continue this study or to use the funds for other purposes will be made at the end of this period. At the close of the academic year, 1935-1936, Mrs. Mary A. Rackham added to the endowment one million dollars. Mrs. Rackham gave this sum to the University under the general terms of the first gift from the Fund, with the additional stipulation that whenever social service to the infirm, aged, and needy could safely be rendered, such service might supplement research. The income of the endowment is allocated for research projects, fellowships, and publication by the Board of Governors of the School [9] THE RACKHAM BUILDING upon recommendation of the Executive Board. Special grants, other endowments for research, and fellowship funds are handled directly by the Executive Board. USES OF THE BUILDING For visitors to Ann Arbor, the building will constitute the most tangible evidence of the School's existence. The thought of the donors, the Trustees of the Fund, in presenting this truly splendid structure to the University, expresses itself in several ways: it is a memorial to Mr. Rackham, who for many years had shown a strong and tangible interest in University activities; it is a visible symbol of the graduate functions of the University; and it is a constant reminder that research and the training of new investigators are indispensable serv%?ices to society. Through endowment and building the Trustees believe they are conserving and continuing Mr. Rackham's own deepest interests.,Although few investigations will ever reach completion within its walls, it is hoped that the initial stages of many projects will begin in the conferences and discussions which its presence on the campus will foster. Records of these projects and completed results of research will fill its files. Here will live the fruits of the [io0] ....... -NN THE RACKHAM BUILDING Rackhamn Endowment Fund and of others to follow. The general significance of the building lies in the often-overlooked fact that graduate work is not merely courses and laboratories; rather that it is always a new form of human relation with knowledge. The varieties of ways by which new knowledge arises are not limited to books, the classroom, and the laboratory. All those intellectual contacts between individuals imbued with curiosity to find out why things are as they are offer such opportunities. The informal intercourse of minds is often as significant as the formal search. New ideas are conceived, new techniques are developed when the set of the daily routine is lifted. Student with student, and teacher with student, generate the ideas that seminar and laboratory test and prove. The building thus conceived is a center for gathering together those stirred by this fundamental curiosity to know. Here they are given opportunity to meet and to discuss the border lines of knowledge which fascinate and urge toward investigation. A criticism sometimes leveled at graduate work is its creation of clannishness among its devotees. Fields of study narrow to lines of no breadth as the student buries himself in his search for an elusive fact. He wants no inter [ 12] USES OF THE BUILDING ruption. Only those who can quickly grasp his idea or his difficulty offer agreeable companionship. The criticism is, as all such usually are, too sweeping; few students and scholars are recluses. Nearer the truth is the lack of opportunity for informal conversation with those working in other subjects. The usual university plan arranges offices and laboratories, libraries and departments in a manner comparable to the library catalog. The catholic or recreational reader must disregyard the rows of books in their proper pigeonholes if he find reading to his taste. Until discovered by the library attendant hie may browse among books. To engage in a similar occupation in the laboratory or seminar room is more dangerous. Custom forbids. Trhe Graduate School building on the University of Michigan campus is neutral territory. In discussion rooms, lecture halls, and attractive lounging and common rooms, and in the nontechnical library and reading room the boundaries between subjects are less evident. The possibility of intellectual recreation is evident, and the specialist has opportunity to become a scholar. The reader may be allowed to judge for himself how nearly these purposes will be realized. Description and prophecy cannot take the place of years of adjustment that must come before [ 13]1 THE RACKHAM BUILDING the building takes its rightful place on the campus. The enumeration of facilities in brick and stone, the designation of this space for one purpose and that for another are but suggestions that may seem strange to a future narrator of University history. SOME ALLOTMENTS OF SPACE 'The offices of the Trustees of the Horace H. Rackham and Mary A. Rackham Fund occupy rooms in the west wing of the main floor. In the east wing are the various offices that administer the affairs of the Graduate School. Divisional committees, research committees of the several divisions, and project directors or committees hold their conferences on this floor also. The campus already offers many facilities for recreation and the social development of its undergraduates. The facilities of the building are designed to permit similar activities among the more mature graduate students. Small study rooms, and conference and common rooms are provided to foster that social, conversational relation often assumed to be a lost art. A large study hall, library, and periodical rooms are furnished for those who wish to read uninterruptedly or to browse in scholarly fields other than their own. [14] GENERAL DESCRIPTION In the recesses of the building above the lecture hail, and again in the basement, are large, airy rooms for those who wish to work in quiet on problems calling for days and weeks of continuous effort. None of these rooms are permanently assigned to graduate students, to any group of graduate students, nor to any faculty research project. They are, however, available for the period of a project to those who are engaged in formal research tasks that are financed by income from endowments. In different sections of the building, particularly on the intermediate floor, are exhibition rooms for demonstration of research techniques and results of research to campus gatherings and to national scientific and learned societies which meet in Ann Arbor as guests of the University. The scheme of the building includes facilities for housing small and medium-sized state, national, and international scientific and scholarly organizations. GENERAL DESCRIPTION The building is located on the two blocks north of the Michigan League Building and Hill Auditorium. The principal elevation, the South, is on a direct line with the University Library and the space between the two build [15] THE RACKHAM BUILDING ings is being developed as a mall. On the north., two additional entrances give access through the ground-story corridors to the entrance hall on the south. The over-all dimensions, exclusive of terraces, are 196 by 250 feet, five stories in height. The exterior walls are of Indiana limestone, with a granite base course, window and door frames of bronze, and a copper roof. On the south elevation the seven general divisions of the Graduate School are exemplified in five allegorical figures in 'the upper part of the building, and in two balcony figures on projective wings. The requirements of the first two stories were greater than those of the upper part of the structure,. and this has been frankly indicated in the exterior design, the offset space providing terraces opening off the second floor. The requirements of the top story were less than in the lprincipal part of the structure, and here again the offset area has been put to use as a paved terrace. This arrangement of the masses of the building was decided upon after other studies had been made in which the greatly varying floor requirements were transposed to pro duce floors of equal size. In the executed design, the mass of the building is an outgrowth of the plan requirements, and the details of the few architectural embellishments are classic, [A] xgI, THE RACKHAM BUILDING with a Grecian feeling. This simple character has been carried through the interiors as well. The dominant feature of the plan is the lecture hall, located in the center of the building, the presence of which is indicated in the curved wall on the north side. This large room, two stories in height, controls the position of all other rooms in the structure, and its position, opposite the building entrance, facilitates handling crowds before and after assembly. To understand clearly the many parts of the building and their locations, the description is given by floors, rather than by departments and uses. Ground Floor Around the east and west sides of the building there are provided workrooms in 34 bays. These open off a U-shaped corridor served by the north entrances and connecting with the principal entrance hall on the south side of the story above. On this floor also are located the storage rooms, workshops, and mechanical equipment for heating and ventilating, which are served by the University power house. Under the lecture hall on the north side a covered driveway gives access to a foyer, providing protected automobile approach for social functions in the building, and at other times [18 ] FIRST FLOOR parking space for the administrative staff of the Graduate School and the Rackham, Fund. This area is completely isolated from other parts of the structure by fire walls and ventilators, and is reached by inclined driveways from East Huron Street. The workrooms, corridors, and entrances on this floor are finished in a manner similar to the modern office building. The storerooms, mechanical equipment, and the covered driveway are of exposed masonry materials. First Floor This is elevated 7 feet above the sidewalk and is reached by a broad terrace with granite steps and flagstone paving, with planted areas at either side. Three entrance doors of bronze and glass open into an entrance hall 31 by 109g feet, with a floor of green and purple-gray slate laid in a rectangular pattern. The plaster walls are painted a Pompeian red, with black marble base and trim, and a beamed ceiling in blue green with stenciled decorations in polychrome and gold recalls the gold and bronze of the lighting fixtures on the walls. Tables of ebonized wood and benches of the same material with blue-green leather cushions harmonize with the three pair of blue-leather, bronzestudded doors which lead to the lecture hall and ['19]1 THE RACKHAM BUILDING its appurtenances. At either side of these doors stairways extend to the upper stories and from a low landing give access to the elevators and to corridors extending to administrative offices at the east and west sides of the building. At each end of the entrance hail are checkrooms, retiring rooms, and stairways leading to the ground-story corridors. On the east side of the building, the administrative offices of the Graduate School are arranged to provide a large waiting room for students, the business office, record room, and staff rooms, with the Dean's and Assistant Dean's offices in the two southeast corners, and the reception, rooms and secretaries' offices between. On the west side of this floor are offices and conference rooms, with the Graduate School Board Room and the Rackham Fund offices in the two southwest corners. All of these rooms are finished similar to modern office buildings, with linoleum floors, painted plaster walls, and wood doors and trim. Two rooms have walnut-paneled walls, and eight are carpeted. IThe lecture hall is a semicircular room 100 feet deep and 2.9 feet high, containing a lecture platform on, the north and an open arcade on the south, which gives access to six radiating aisles serving approximately i,200 seats. The [20] --- - - - ------------ - - -------..................................................................... iR 490m, THE RACKHAM BUILDING semicircular form was adopted in preference to the ordinary theater-shaped auditorium because of the use to which the room will be put, and the seats and aisles have been arranged in a spacious manner, permitting movement to and from the seats without requiring the occupants to rise. /Three pairs of doors on the south side of the room open into a lobby which intervenes between this large room and the entrance hall, and at either end of this lobby are retiring rooms for men and women. At the northeast and northwest corners are emergency exits admitting to the two north entrance halls. The elevated lecture platform at the center of the north wall provides a speaker's stand, seats for eighteen, stairways to a robing room below, as well as steps to the floor of the lecture hall and sound-control pit. On the wall above, a motion picture screen is covered with draperies, operated from the picture booth, wherein provision has been made for electrical amplification of the lectures, reception and transmission of radio programs, sound on film, and record reproduction, as well as space for television and microscopic projection. The color scheme of this room begins with a dark blue carpet under the terra-cotta velour in the fully upholstered theater seats. The walls of terra-cotta red have ebonized wood trim and [22] SECOND FLOOR blue-leather doors with blue-black stenciled decorations above the base and gold and polychrome in the pilaster caps and cornice. A flat ceiling of lighter blue has a pattern of overlapping radiating circular bands in gold leaf and polychrome, which increase in richness of color and detail as they center over the speaker's platform. The lighting of this room is unusual in that the customary chandeliers have been replaced by a series of small openings in the ceiling which permit cones of light to spread over the audience, providing a splendid light for taking notes and discussion from the floor. Second Floor Two monumental stairways of travertine lead to this floor. T'he north part is occupied by the upper part of the lecture hall. On the south front and center of the building is a study hall 31 by 105 feet, 34 feet high, with five great windows facing the mall. At either end of this room are the book alcove and periodical alcove, each measuring 22 by 40 feet, 21 feet high. The color scheme and furnishings of these three rooms are similar. The study hall is carpeted in a large-scale figure. The color of the 12-foot wainscot of Appalachian oak in a medium brown is continued in a lighter tone to the [23] THE RACKHAM BUILDING ceiling. On the side walls the seals of member schools of the Association of American Universities are emblazoned in full color. The ceiling is divided by five great coffers in polychrome and gold, and from three of these are suspended chandeliers in antique green and gilt, supplementing the lamps on the study tables. The large study tables and chairs are in oak, harmonizing with the wood wainscot. The lounge chairs are upholstered in blues, greens, and terra-cotta reds-the colors found in the pattern of the carpet and in the draperies. In the very center of the second floor is a circular foyer 26 feet in diameter, lighted from above. On the north wall of this room, opposite the door to the study hall, a memorial to Mr. Rackham contains a portrait plaque in bronze, modeled by Mr. Angell of the University Museums, and an inscription in bronze letters on a marble background. Corridors connect this room with adjacent stairways. The color scheme of the foyer, the dark terra-cotta red and travertine, are carried through the corridors in the geometrically figured rugs. Corridor walls are plain with accents of color in the ebonized furniture with blue-green leather upholstery. On the east side are the men's lounge, 26 by 69 feet, 21 feet high, and writing and music alcoves, 17 by 28 feet. The floors of these rooms [241 ;.0 0 THE RACKHAM BUILDING are covered with a carpet of a Georgian pattern in which reds, tans, and greens predominate. The lounge walls are sepia; the two alcoves Georgian green. The lighting fixtures are brass and pewter in a modified Georgian character dictated by the furnishings. The furnishings are of the type found in the heavier Chippendale and Queen Anne pieces of mahogany and walnut, upholstered in leathers, friezes, and tapestries. At the opposite end of the building the women's lounge, writing alcove, and music alcove are located. In contrast to the men's room, the carpets are of a gray-green color, containing a modified Empire pattern in tans and a golden yellow. The walls of the reading room are beige; the two alcoves bisque. The lighting fixtures are in gray green and gilt. The furniture, in walnut, mahogany, and bleached wood, includes thle lighter Chippendale types with Duncan Phyfe pieces of similar character. Trwo council or committee rooms on this floor, measuring 15 by 20 feet and located adjacent to the lounge rooms, provide for smaller student group meetings. The furnishings are in harmony with the adjoining rooms. Mezzanine Floor East, south, and west portions of this story consist of the upper part of the high rooms on [ 26 ] THIRD FLOOR the second story. The northern part contains eight workrooms for visiting faculty and graduate students, and two lecture rooms, each seating fifty persons. Through this story pass the trusses over the lecture hail, and the inside spaces between the trusses have been finished as exhibition rooms, two of them measuring 30 by 52 feet and tWO, 25 by 47 feet. These are arranged so that they may be used separately or thrown together. The corridors in the mezzanine story, connecting the workrooms with the stairways and elevators, have been widened to 12 feet to provide additional exhibition space. The lecture rooms are carpeted and equipped with theater-type chairs, light-proof shades, and facilities for projectors. The exhibition rooms and corridors have linoleum floors and are painted a neutral gray color; the walls of the exhibition rooms are of wood covered with fabric to permit freedom in the hanging of exhibits. Third Floor The third floor is really the fifth story and is about one-half the area of the lower part of the building. The south part of it contains the upper part of the high study hall. In the center of this story is a small amphitheater, a room 6o feet in diameter, seating 250. The entrance to this room is from the north [ 271 THE RACKHAM BUILDING corridor, with emergency exits to the east and west corridors. On the south side is a laboratory table fully equipped for demonstrations, and the steep-terraced floor provides perfect vision from all parts of the room to the top of this table. Back of the table a motion-picture screen and sound equipment are controlled from the booth on the north side. The floor is covered with dark green carpet and the theater-type seats are fully upholstered in a medium green. The walls of the room are of an acoustical material in medium brown, with horizontal bands of bronze molding. This color continues up to the ceiling where a series of concentric steps leads to an illuminated dome which floods the room with warm light. The decorative band on the side walls just below the ceiling contains 31 plaques on which various divisions or fields of study are symbolized. Three spotlights over the lecture table permit intense illumination, while the rest of the room can be darkened. On the north side of this floor an assembly room 63 by 26 feet, and two alcoves at either end, measuring 15 by 22 feet, provide space for receptions, dances, and informal meetings. The rooms are divided by folding cloth doors, and the decorative scheme and furnishings are of a modified Pompeian character, permitting the three rooms to be used as one. The assembly [128] THIRD FLOOR room colors are principally yellow and gray and the alcoves red and gray. The floor of gray and black is covered by rugs in black, gray, and blue, the blue harmonizing with the upholstering on the chair seats and the folding cloth doors. At the east and west sides of the building are conference rooms, 28 by 36 feet, for the use -of the many groups and associations within the graduate body. These rooms are furnished in a similar manner, with carpeted floors of mottled gray harmonizing with the pin-grained oak which extends from floor to ceiling. The east room has draperies in red, the west room in blue, these colors being recalled in the upholstering materials of the furniture, which is of a modified Empire and Biedermeier character, permitting an exchange of furniture between the rooms as well as with the assembly room when a large function requires that these five rooms be used at the same time. Connecting these rooms with the stairs and elevators are wide corridors with rubber-tile floors and painted plaster walls in a neutral tone. These are furnished with settees and chairs. From these corridors, as well as from the assembly room, access can be had to a large roof which will be furnished and planted. Equipment for serving tea or light refreshments is largely concentrated on this floor. [:29]1 THE RACKHAM BUILDING In the space above this floor, and under the sloping roof, are located the fan rooms for the ventilating equipment, distributing ducts, and the elevator machine rooms. CHRONOLOGY The program of space requirements and operations was developed by the University administrative officers during the spring and summer of 1935. From this program, the architects, Smith, Hinchman and Grylls, developed sketches for six distinct types of structures, from which the present plan was selected and approved by the President, the Dean, and the Trustees of the Horace H. Rackhamn and Mary A. Rackhamn Fund. The contractors, the W. E. Wood Company, began work in March, 1936. They and the architects were assisted in the field operations by the Director of Plant Extension and the Controller of the University Staff.The mechanical equipment was installed by the Department of Buildings and Grounds. The administrative offices of the Graduate School and of the Fund moved into their quarters in the building on May 26, 1938. Graduate students were admitted to the study halls on June 6. On the day preceding the ninety-fourth commencement, on June 17, appropriate dedication exercises were held in the main lecture hall. [130] STAIR ENTRANCE UINIIIN ERSITYOF MICHIfAN I 3 9015 00508 4507 THE GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING WAS PREPARED BY W. E. KAPP, OF SMITH, HINCHMAN AND GRYLLS, INC. THE ILLUSTRATIONS ARE FROM PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH WERE FURNISHED THROUGH THE COURTESY OF THE DETROIT NEWS AND THE ANN ARBOR NEWS. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DATE DUE