Post 2: Artistic Processes

Post # 2: The Creation of Austin Hall

            Austin Hall was designed by American architect Henry Hobson (H.H.) Richardson in 1881, though it did not open for Law School Classes until 1883, with construction officially completed in 1884. As the first building specifically commissioned for sole use by the Harvard Law School, its interior warrens are replete with administrative office space as well as the Ames Courtroom, a large space with wooden beams and a fireplace that hearken back to its day when it housed the school’s library rather than the moot court. The frontal inscription from Exodus, "And thou Shalt teach them ordinances and laws and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk and the work they must do" also reflect the building’s status as the first law school building.

            Austin was one of the last works Richardson completed prior to his death in 1886. It followed a traditional “Richardsonian Romanesque” style, even though it is likely that his three closest, young assistants carried out some of the logistical work for him, given his deteriorating health late in life. In fact, these three formed the firm, Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, which would carry out many of Richardson’s plans after his death, and thus posthumously broaden his legacy.

            Prior to construction and even selecting its alumnus Richardson as the architect, however, the University needed a benefactor and a location. The former arrived in the form of Edward Austin, the structure's namesake. Dean of the Law School Langdell then selected the site, with an emphasis on developing a building that would facilitate large lecture meetings, in support of his "case method." For such an interior and for the design , Langdell and the University fathers selected acclaimed H.H. Richardson, due to his credentials as the most prominent New England architect at the time as well as his connections to the University as a Harvard alumnus and principal designer of the freshly-built Sever Hall.

           Following the design and planning phase, it was not Richardson and his assistants who oversaw the placement and erection of thousands of tons of Ohio and Longmeadow sandstone. Rather, the Norcross brothers, James and O.W., with the latter taking the lead, oversaw the actual execution of Richardson's plans. Richardson had relied upon these two individuals heavily in the past for this work role in the implementation of virtually all of his designs. Though their relationship with Richardson was the primary basis for their wide appeal, they would develop relationships with many of his protege's firms after his death, such that the actual physical construction of nearly all Richardsonian Romanesque structures following his death was left up to the Norcross Brothers.

         Integral to the implementation process whose completion the chief builder oversaw were the following specialized workers, whose efforts proceeded in roughly the order they are listed:

-Surveyors

-Structural engineers

-Stonemasons

-Roofers

-Plumbers
-Glassmakers

References:

James F. O' Gorman (1973). "O.W. Norcross, Richardson's 'Master Builder': A Preliminary Report"
http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/nwc/legacy_history.htm

http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/administration/facilities/buildings/austin.html

http://eng.archinform.net/arch/1425.htm

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/harvrich/harvrich.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/onasill/7263476022/lightbox/ (Picture)