East Campus (Columbia University) - Architecture

Architecture

East Campus was originally clad in red and white tiles, a surfacing architectural critics praised as innovative. The A.I.A Guide to New York City called it "elegant and handsome". Despite such positive views, reception to the building was mixed overall. Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable wrote of East Campus:

"Consider a building that has to be vandal-proof, constructed of maintenance-free materials, with every surface resistant to neglect and abuse, where violation of design and function must be an anticipated fact, along with defacement and petty thievery - a place where surveillance is a necessity and the population is transient. A description of a maximum security prison? Not at all. This is a dormitory at Columbia University."

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