DENISE SCOOT

BROWN
 Profile
 Denise Scott Brown, (born
October 3, 1931) is an architect,
urban designer, planner and principal
of the Philadelphia firm Venturi, Scott
Brown and Associates. Born in
Nkana, Zambia to Jewish parents
Simon and Phyllis Hepker Lakofski,
Education and experience
 Scott Brown studied first in South Africa at the
University of the Witwatersrand from 1948 to
1951. She later moved to London to study at the
Architectural Association in 1952 and married
Robert Scott Brown on July 21, 1955 (deceased in
1959 in a car accident). After the death of her
husband, she moved to the United States and
obtained master’s degrees from the
University of Pennsylvania where she also served
as a faculty member after her graduation (1960
to 1965). In 1967, she married her second
husband, the architect Robert Venturi, with whom
she had James C. Venturi.
 Well known as a scholar in urban planning,
Scott Brown would later teach at Berkeley,
Harvard and Yale. In 1967 she joined
architect Robert Venturi as a principal in
charge of planning. She contributed to
such major undertakings as the planning
of South Street, Philadelphia, Miami Beach,
and Memphis, Tennessee. More recently
focused on campus planning, Scott Brown
has planned work for Brown University,
Williams College and the
University of Kentucky.
Works
 Gordon Wu Hall
 Architect: Robert Venturi and Denise Scott
Brown, VSBA
 Location: Princeton, New Jersey
 Date:1983
 Building type: academic
 Construction type; brick masonry
 Climate: temperate
 Context :campus
 Style Post-Modern
 Discussion Gordon Wu Hall
Commentary
 "The interior of the building was planned not only to create
a series of spaces to accommodate the social and dining
activities of 500 students, but also to provide opportunities
for informal, intimate and spontaneous social interaction.
The long dining room with a tall bay window at its end
provides a sense of grandeur and recalls Princeton's Neo-
Gothic dining halls; but low ceilings, large windows and
natural wood furnishings create another scale of intimacy
and comfort that allows the large room to become a
pleasing cross between a cafe and a grand dining
commons. At the entry lobby a stairway leads past another
large bay window to a lounge, administrative offices and
library on the upper floor.
 The first flight of stairs unexpectedly
extends to one side to form bleacher-like
risers suitable for sitting. The extended
stairwell suggests a grand stair sweeping
upward, but serves informally as a
spontaneous waiting and gathering place.
On special occasions it becomes an indoor
amphitheater.“— from Stephen Prokopoff.
Venturi, Rauch and Scott Brown: A
Generation of Architecture.
 The Creator's Words
"...Venturi profoundly rationalized and civilized
the profession. Rational discourse, though rare,
now became possible as it replaced the crude,
shouted slogans of the recent past. Even
disagreement could be imagined. When asked
about some students at Princeton University who
had criticized his work, Venturi said in effect,'
Sure, why not. It's only architecture, not religion.'
"
— Robert Venturi. from Vincent Scully 'Venturi's
Gentle Architecture.' from Christopher Mead, ed.
and introduction. The Architecture of Robert
Venturi.
 "The problem lay in creating a new center for
Butler College. The architects write: 'The
building's design takes important cues from what
is around it, but it promotes also an identity of its
own. Its long shape and central position make it a
visual hyphen that connects the dormitoreis and
unites them. The brick, limestone trim, and strip
windows adhere to the entrance, set off-center
and broadside in the building, is marked by a bold
marble and gray granite panel recalling early
Renaissance ornament and symbolizing the
entrance to the College as a whole as well as to
the building itself.' "
-Robert Venturi. from Neil Levine 'The
Return of Historicism.' from Christopher Mead, ed.
and introduction. The Architecture of Robert
Venturi.
 SCHLESINGER LIBRARY
RENOVATION,
RADCLIFFE INSTITUTE FOR
ADVANCED
STUDY, HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
ENTRY
READING ROOM
 Architects:Venturi, Scott Brown and
Associates, Inc.
 Location: Cambridge, MA
 Client: Radcliffe Institute for
Advanced Study
 Construction Cost: $5,000,000
 Area: 26,000 sqf
 Completion: 2004
 VSBA programmed and designed a renovation of the Arthur
and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library for the History of Women
in America, one of a group of buildings at the head of
historic Radcliffe Yard. Built in 1907 and originally home to
the Radcliffe College Library, the building became a
research library in 1967. It’s now an important component
of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Over time, the
building became more intensely and densely used to meet
the needs of a modern special collections library. In the
process, most of the character, grace, and generosity of the
original building interior was obliterated. Our challenge was
to help the Library recover some of its character while
meeting the 21st century needs of an important collection
and contemporary caretakers and users.
They:
• improved building systems to ensure
security and long-term preservation of
collections
• facilitated library staffing and function by
consolidating service points and public
access
• Improved building entry sequence and
enable connectivity between public spaces
in Radcliffe Yard buildings
 reclaimed some of the building’s historic
significance and ethos.
 This project was the first increment of the
Radcliffe Institute’s campus plan, completed by
VSBA in 2002. Their renovation supports the
goals of the overall plan, with exhibition and
meeting space on the first floor and a newly
accessible entrance from Radcliffe Yard. An area
of the second floor was returned to double-height
reading room space, and existing original building
elements -- such as the ornamental stair and the
Sarah Wyman Whitman Room -- were refurbished
and maintained in public view.
LEHIGH VALLEY HOSPITAL -
MUHLENBERG
 Architects: FreemanWhite, Inc. in
association with
 Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc.
 Location: Bethlehem, PA
 Client: Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health
Network
 Construction Cost: $42,000,000
 Area: 265,000 sf (new); 100,000 sf
(renovation)
 Completion: 2005
 The Hospital now features 188 private
rooms for critical
 care, cardiac, and medical/surgical
patients; expansion
 of the Regional Heart Center; an intensive
care unit;
 Diagnostic Care Center; new hospital
entrance and lobby;
 cafeteria; pharmacy; chapel; retail space;
and increased
 visitor and staff parking.
 Patient and clinical areas were designed with the patient
 and family in mind. An administrative staff member is
 located to provide personal contact upon arrival at each
 floor. Each unit includes a room for family members to
 stay overnight. Units are designed to help staff focus on
 patient care by distributing functions usually located at
 a central nurse station to staff areas at the entrance to
 the patient’s room. Each room provides separate zones
 for patient, staff, and family. To improve flexibility and
 decrease patient relocations, the twelve-bed open-heart
 unit was designed to provide complete services from
postsurgery
 to discharge.
 An iconic 48-foot blue “H” marks the Hospital’s
entrance.
 It’s integrated into a limestone arcade that
welcomes
 visitors and supports the entrance canopy. The
building’s
 facade is red brick and limestone on the front and
buff
 brick on the sides and back. An applied metal grid
on
 the front represents the advanced technological
structure
 and complements the more traditional brickwork.
On the
 interior, warm finishes, patterns, and colors help
to create a
 comforting atmosphere while providing useful
wayfinding
Views of the lobby (with media wall), cafe, and chapel
BY,
B. SURESH KUMAR
04M01B0023