Pirelli Tire Building
Pirelli Tire Building | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Brutalism |
Location | 500 Sargent Drive New Haven, Connecticut, 06511 |
Coordinates | 41°17′47″N 72°55′07″W / 41.2965°N 72.9187°WCoordinates: 41°17′47″N 72°55′07″W / 41.2965°N 72.9187°W |
Construction started | 1968 |
Completed | 1970 |
Technical details | |
Floor count | 6 |
Design and construction | |
Architect | Marcel Breuer |
Armstrong Rubber Company Building | |
![]() Interactive map highlighting the building's location | |
NRHP reference No. | 100006451[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 29, 2021 |
The Pirelli Tire Building also known as the Armstrong Rubber Building is a historic former office building in the neighborhood of Long Wharf in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Designed by modernist architect Marcel Breuer, the structure is a noted example of Brutalism. Completed in 1970, it was converted to a hotel in 2020 and will open in summer 2021. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.[1]
History[]
Early history[]
Armstrong Rubber Co. first initiated the building's construction in 1966 with the presentation of a proposal to develop a site at the intersection of Interstates 91 and 95 to then-mayor of New Haven, Richard C. Lee. While the company originally proposed a low rise structure, Lee suggested a 8-10 story development. In response, the project's architect, Marcel Breuer, designed a plan suspending the company's administrative offices two stories above a two-story research and development space.[2] The negative space between the building's two forms was reportedly intended to reduce sound in the offices from the development labs below.
The building's facade is constructed entirely of pre-cast concrete paneling designed to provide sun protection and visual depth.[2]
In 1988, Pirelli purchased Armstrong Rubber, selling the site soon after.[3]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Pirelli_Tire_Building_New_Haven.jpg/220px-Pirelli_Tire_Building_New_Haven.jpg)
The New Haven Arts Council's Alliance for Architecture effectively added the site to the State Register of Historic Places in 2000.[4]
Partial demolition[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/IKEA-Pirelli-Building-New-Haven-Connecticut-04-2014.jpg/220px-IKEA-Pirelli-Building-New-Haven-Connecticut-04-2014.jpg)
Swedish furniture manufacturer, IKEA, purchased the site in 2003, soon after announcing plans to build an adjacent store and demolish a 64,000-square foot section of the building for parking. The plan was criticized by the Long Wharf Advocacy Group, a local coalition that sought to pursue alternatives for the site that better preserved the structure. The Connecticut chapter of the American Institute of Architects criticized the plan as well.[5] Despite community criticism, IKEA demolished most of the low-rise portion of the structure for construction of a parking lot, saving only the portion below the suspended offices; the demolition was criticized for disrupting the intended asymmetrical visual balance of the structure.[2][5]
Current and future use[]
The Pirelli Tire Building remained unoccupied and largely unused for many years, which was criticized by preservation groups as demolition by neglect.[3]
In 2017, New-Haven-born visual artist Tom Burr utilized the entire first floor of a conceptual art exhibition titled Body/Building.[4]
In 2018, local reports emerged of the possible development of a hotel on the site.[6][7]
In December 2019, the 2.76-acre property containing the building was purchased from IKEA for $1.2 million by Westport, Connecticut architect and developer, Bruce Redman Becker, FAIA, of Becker + Becker, who announced plans to convert it into a "net zero energy boutique hotel and conference center".[8] It will open as the 165-room Hotel Marcel, named for its architect, in summer 2021.[9]
Reception[]
The building has faced considerable public criticism. According to an October 2018 Business Insider article, the building was rated as the state's "ugliest" by Connecticut residents.[10][11]
References[]
- ^ a b "Weekly listing". National Park Service.
- ^ a b c "Pirelli Tire Building". docomomo-us.org. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ a b DICKINSON, DUO. "After A Dozen Years, New Interest In Adaptive Reuse Of Iconic Pirelli Building - Hartford Courant". courant.com. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ a b "Placing Pieces of Local History in an Empty Marcel Breuer Building". Hyperallergic. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ a b Hughes, C. J. (2003-01-26). "The View/From New Haven; As a Business Sets Up, A Group Takes Steps To Preserve a Landmark". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ "Breuer's Pirelli Tire Building will be reborn as a hotel". Archpaper.com. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ "Marcel Breuer's Brutalist Pirelli Building is slated for new life as a hotel". Archinect. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ "360 State Builder Buys IKEA Hotel Site". New Haven Independent. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
- ^ "Marcel Breuer's icon of brutalist architecture in Connecticut is reimagined as a hotel". 26 February 2021.
- ^ Dayton, Kels (2018-07-25). "Pirelli Building in New Haven named Connecticut's ugliest building". WTNH. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
- ^ Garfield, Leanna. "The ugliest building in every US state, according to people who live there". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armstrong Rubber/Pirelli Tire Building. |
- Buildings and structures in New Haven, Connecticut
- Brutalist architecture in Connecticut
- Marcel Breuer buildings
- Commercial buildings completed in 1970
- IKEA
- National Register of Historic Places in New Haven, Connecticut