Faner Hall

Faner Hall I
By: Adulsak "Otto" Chanyakorn

I have heard people refer to Faner Hall (Figure 1) as the “Monstrosity on Campus” while I was studying English before I entered the School of Architecture in Carbondale. The first time I heard that name, I was surprised that people called this avant-garde building of its time by that name. Then, I realized that I am a person who has spent my life studying architecture since I was eighteen years old. Thus, people who have a different background or dissimilar field may look at Faner Hall in a different perspective than me. I was fascinated by this nickname of Faner Hall. Hence, I spent my time to do some research about Faner Hall or the so-called “Monstrosity on Campus.”

When the university decided to build the new building for Humanities and Social Sciences department in 1967, the university hired Geddes, Brecher, Qualls , and Cunnigham as the architectural firm to design the project. Geddes, who was a leader of the firm, was a well-known figure in the American architectural field at the time. He was commissioned to design campus buildings in many universities. He tended to apply the same philosophy and principle to the buildings that he had designed. They were similar in appearance of form and materials (exposed concrete). For example, the Graduate Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania can easily be compared to Faner Hall. However, Geddes was not the only one who employed this design methodology to his buildings. This trend of campus architecture style was started around 1950 or so after World War II. Also, it was the time that International Style became the main focus for architects in the western world. They tried to create architecture that escaped from traditional buildings. Likewise, it was the time that architects wanted to express their individual architectural style instead of dedication to the campus as a whole. In addition, this type of architecture (Brutal Architecture) was brought into America when Le Corbusier was commissioned to design the Carpenter Center for Harvard Design School in Boston (Figure 2). Since then, this architectural style became widespread throughout the country. Obviously, Faner Hall was influenced by Le Corbusier’s architecture as well. Before the Faner Hall was finished, it received a lot of criticism from faculty and students which I will elaborate on more in the next article (Faner Hall II).

References:
Jordan, M. (2010). Faner Hall: Faux pas and follower? Legacy, 10 (1), 37-48.
Anulfo. (2010, October 22). “31 in 31 of your favorite buildings in Boston: #22.“ The Evolving Critic:
Exploring the Arts and Architecture around Boston. Retrieved from http://exploringvenustas.wordpress.com/