Something about the Nature of Architecture: The History of the Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library

Asbestos

Asbestos insulation, a commonly used material at the time, was originally used in the building's ceilings throughout the original Art & Architecture building. Within the next decade, its carcinogenic properties would be revealed and it would slowly be discontinued as a building material. For Rudolph, it offered solutions to various design issues. It served as a visually uniform, network plane for HVAC routing, dampened sound in the studios, offices, and the library, and was appealing for its aesthetic features.  However, by the late 1960s, the ceiling was beginning to fall apart with dust settling throughout the building.

The library was acutely affected by the crumbling asbestos. One library director, Richard Kaufman, was forced into early retirement in the 1970s due to an eye injury which resulted from exposure while working in the building. Library staff regretted that they were not at that time aware of the potential hazard. One remembered,  "we would come in the morning and there would be grit on the table. That was asbestos. We were all breathing that in" (Vestermark, 8).

After a carefully conducted study, the University committed to remediating the building which would require a complicated process to remove the toxic building materials. Though it would fix the problem, this episode worked to further general distaste for the Art & Architecutre building and added to its perception as a dangerous environment.

Before remediation began, in October 1974, the entire library collection was moved to Cross-Campus Library (currently known as Bass Library). It remained there for over a year while the Art & Architecture building was cleaned and renovated. When the collection returned, the asbestos ceilings were gone from the library as were the original lights, replaced by fluorescents.

Paul Rudolph would eventually die of mesothelioma in 1997, which is often the result of asbestos exposure. He had most likely been exposed repeatedly throughout his life, beginning with his work in the Brooklyn Naval Yard. Shortly after his death, performance artist Mark Bain sprinkled another type of dust around Rudolph's most famous building, though this a less hazardous material than asbestos, and an insignificant amount compared to that which was removed during remediation: Bain deposited eight ounces of ashes from Rudolph's cremated remains.

Metropolis Magazine interviewed him in 1998 shortly after he completed this tribute:

Bain, who describes himself as an 'anti-architect,' tracked down Rudolph's ashes (which had been divided between two friends) and released them into the A + A Building as part of what he called his Ventilator Project. The materials list for the project reads, in part: 'ventilation duct, electronics, and portion of the architect Paul Rudolph's cremated remains.' Bain is quiet about his intentions; he says only that he wanted to 'dust the interior with a symbolic residue of the architect (Nobel, 38).