Talk:Richards Medical Research Laboratories

Major Expansion

Just to let everyone know, I will be posting a major expansion for this article with full citations in the near future. --Bilpen 18:07, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

The expansion is now in place. I think I have folded in everything from the original article except for two dead links that aren't needed now because of other citations that have been added. I changed the completion date of the Richard building to 1960 instead of 1962, of the Goddard building to 1965 instead of 1964, to match the chronology given in Brownlee and De Long's book "Louis I. Kahn: In the Realm of Architecture" and also in McCarter's book "Louis I. Kahn." The 1965 overall completion date also matches the date given by the Architectural Archives of the University of Pennsylvania. I realize that dating architectural projects can sometimes be a little fuzzy and that slightly different dates are provided by other sources. Cooperman, for example, says the combined buildings were "substantially completed" in 1963 but that landscaping and final documentation weren't completed until 1965. Still, it seems best to use the dates given by Brownlee and De Long in the "Buildings and Projects, 1925-74" section of their book, and by McCarter in the "List of Projects 1926-73" section of his book. Those are the most complete listings of Kahn's projects available, which makes them the best candidates for standardized dating for Kahn's works in general. Bilpen 19:04, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Phenominal! If you wish to continue expanding, maybe a section devoted to what exactly UPenn uses the building for would also be relevant. ​​​​​​​​Niagara ​​^{Don't give up the ship} 21:17, 30 December 2010 (UTC)

Memories of the Richards and Goddard Laboratory buildings

I have many wonderful memories of working in this extended building, from 1965 to 1971, for Dr. George L. Gerstein (died March, 2018) as a software engineer. Most of the labs appeared to me to work on biochemistry and genetics. I recall refrigerators and centrifuges everywhere. I worked mostly in a basement lab near the rooms housing lab mice and MRI research, doing LINC computer programming in support of neurophysiology research. I also constructed electronic components in a small fifth-floor mechanical and electronics shop, and did some programming in a large mid-building lab housing a PDP-10 computer. The labs were efficient and airy, and had a good feel to them. Just outside was a pond and lawn (Kaskey Park), useful for focused reading and writing. I was visited there one day by a very calm, four-inch-long green grasshopper. David Spector (user/talk) 20:20, 7 July 2012 (UTC)