Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building
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| Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building | |
|---|---|
 Mudd Chemistry Building in 2008 | |
 Interactive map of the Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building area | |
| General information | |
| Status | Demolished |
| Type | Classroom, laboratory |
| Architectural style | Postmodernism |
| Location | Poughkeepsie, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°41′08″N 73°53′41″W / 41.685484°N 73.894722°W[1] |
| Current tenants | Vassar College |
| Groundbreaking | October 8, 1982 |
| Demolished | Spring 2016 |
| Cost | $7.2 million (1984) |
| Owner | Vassar College |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Limestone, brick, glass blocks |
| Floor count | Three |
| Floor area | 42,000 square feet (3,900 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Perry Dean Rogers Architects |
| Structural engineer | Zaldastani Associates |
| Services engineer | Fred Dubin |
| Main contractor | W. J. Barney Corporation |
The Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building was a chemistry laboratory and classroom building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York. The 42,000-square-foot (3,900 m2) postmodern building stood on the north end of a cluster of other science buildings on the site of the school's first chemistry laboratory. It was completed in 1984 at a cost of $7.2 million after the college received money from a fund bequeathed to it in the will of California cardiologist and professor Seeley G. Mudd. The structure replaced Sanders Hall of Chemistry and included elements designed to be energy efficient, notably a large wall of glass blocks that designers hoped would passively heat the building. Reviews of the structure were positive when it opened with critics praising the way its form complemented nearby older buildings. By 2015, many aspects of the building had been evaluated as being in Fair or Poor condition and the building was demolished in April 2016 as part of the Science Center project, later replaced with an open green space.
Vassar Brothers Laboratory was the first chemistry building on the campus of Vassar College in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, built in 1880, around 500 feet (150 m) from the college's Main Building.[2][3] The Laboratory, which was the first free-standing chemistry structure at a women's college, stood until 1938, 29 years after the construction of its replacement, the Ewing & Chapelle-designed Sanders Hall of Chemistry.[2][4]
In 1981, the Seeley G. Mudd Fund granted Vassar $1.3 million for the construction of a new chemistry building.[5] Mudd was a California-based cardiologist, professor, and trustee with the University of Southern California's School of Medicine as well as with a number of other West Coast schools.[6] Over his lifetime, Mudd donated more than $10 million to higher education institutions and upon his death in 1968, his will established a further $44 million for building construction at universities and colleges, with the stipulation that institutions requesting a grant provide at least half the funds for their projects[6] and that his name be prominently displayed on any buildings receiving the funding.[7] While the cost of the building was originally reported to be $4.5 million,[8] this estimate grew to $6.5 million by 1984[5] and would ultimately come to $7.2 million once the project was completed.[9] The College planned to cover the costs not paid for by the Mudd Fund with a $100 million development fundraising program that spanned the entirety of the 1980s.[5]
Ground was broken on the new building on October 8, 1982, in a ceremony presided over by Vassar president Virginia B. Smith.[8] Smith had previously selected engineer Fred Dubin to aid the school in constructing a more environmentally friendly chemistry building.[10] As design progressed, she identified the need to hire architects to design the building alongside Dubin, so Perry Dean Rogers Architects of Boston were selected.[11] Named the Seeley G. Mudd Chemistry Building after its benefactor,[5] the building was constructed on the site where Vassar Brothers Laboratory once stood.[9] Dubin initially tried to have it placed on the south side of Sanders Physics Building, but that site was deemed unworkable in part because of its proximity to the school's Shakespeare Gardens.[11] The building was instead placed southwest of Sanders Hall of Chemistry, which would be renamed Sanders Classrooms,[12] and completed a quadrangle consisting of both Sanders buildings and the New England Building.[13] Though built across from Sanders Physics, Mudd was actually 3 feet (0.91 m) out of alignment with it.[14] Zaldastani Associates served as the project's structural engineers and W. J. Barney Corporation served as its general contractor.[15]
In 2007, despite being Vassar's youngest completed academic building,[16] a report by Platt Byard Dovell White Architects report found that many components of Mudd's structure were in either Fair or Poor condition.[17] The structure was slated for demolition in spring 2016 as part of the college's Science Center project, which also included the construction of the new Bridge for Laboratory Sciences building and the renovations of the New England Building, Sanders Physics, and Olmsted Hall.[18][19][20] The chemistry department began its move to the Bridge for Laboratory Sciences in summer 2015 and Mudd's demolition followed. Exterior facade elements, windows, and indoor walls were cut away before the building's frame was dismantled, concluding on April 22, 2016. The site was cleared and replaced with an open green space.[21]
