How can we promote the unique culture and community that University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has to offer? Moreover, how can we celebrate the architecture and build upon Paul Rudolph’s ideas of community to further enhance it? During these uncertain times, we aim to use our architecture to explore how we can best strive and excel on this campus and the spaces it provides. With the pandemic leaving many questions unanswered, we would like to hear from attendees how to utilize this time to acknowledge the positive attributes of our campus and how we may engage the general public and community to interact more meaningfully with our campus and our world.

Through the UMass BRUT initiative, we are excited to host a virtual tour and conversation to discuss these questions. The tour will be led by Dr. Anna Dempsey, Professor and Chair of the Department of Art Education, Art History & Media Studies. The conversation will be led by David Fixler FAIA FAPT LEED, Barbara Campagna FAIA, FAPT, LEED AP BD+C and Dr. Timothy M. Rohan, Department of the History of Art & Architecture, UMass Amherst, whose research focuses on Paul Rudolph and modernism of the post-world war II era.

The tour will consist of an overview of the campus, showcasing some of its most prominent and unique features. Factors such as setting and location will also be discussed. The conversation will then acknowledge these elements while including a segment on how we can reimagine the campus to accommodate the current and post pandemic world. Through this discussion, we aim to enhance and celebrate Rudolph’s vision for this singular public university.

Paul Rudolph was one of the leading modernist architects of the mid-twentieth century. All of his work conformed to a singular aesthetic principle, one that underlined a distinct political philosophy. This is especially evident at Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute (SMTI)/University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Rudolph believed that the architecture of UMass Dartmouth should showcase an ideal—that of an educational utopia. As is evident from his plans, Rudolph situated his modern structures within a garden-like setting--- a functional learning community that shelters students and visitors from the distractions of daily life

Attendees will gain a distinct appreciation of the importance a campus like UMass Dartmouth contributes to the history of American architecture, and how the campus embodies the ideals set out by Rudolph and others during the turbulent second half of the twentieth century.

UMass Dartmouth: Promoting the Public University through Architecture