Olivetti-Underwood Factory
Encyclopedia
The Olivetti-Underwood Factory was designed by renowned architect Louis Kahn
. Olivetti, an Italian company, commissioned Kahn in 1966 to design the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
building for the manufacture of their Underwood
line of typewriters and related products. It was completed in 1970.
Corporations don't usually hire famous architects to design their factory buildings, and those architects probably wouldn't be interested anyway because of the limited creative possibilities. Olivetti, however, "were then the most discerning patrons of industrial building - anywhere," and Kahn was happy to work for a client as sophisticated as Olivetti.
The key design limitation was that the factory floor needed to be as open as possible to enable rapid reconfiguration of equipment to meet changing market requirements. The easy way to meet this limitation would have been to build the factory as a steel frame
structure, but Kahn didn't build any structures of that type after 1950, preferring the more monumental appearance he could achieve with materials like concrete and brick. Kahn, relying on the expertise of August Komendant
, a structural engineer and Kahn's preferred collaborator, instead designed the building as a concrete structure. Komendant was an authority on techniques for greatly increasing the strength of concrete by prestressing
it, making it possible to build structures that are more graceful than would be possible with ordinary concrete.
The Olivetti-Underwood Factory consists of 72 prestressed concrete
units locked together in an 8x9 grid that is clearly visible in this aerial image on Google Maps. Each unit looks something like a square dish with clipped corners perched on top of a relatively thin concrete column. More precisely, the dish is a prismatic concrete shell 6 inches (15 cm) thick, 30 feet (9 m) above the factory floor and 60 feet (18 m) across, covering 3600 square feet (334 m²) of roof. Rain water drains from the roof down a pipe in the center of the column. Because the outer four corners of each unit are clipped, a void is left at the place where four units meet that allows natural light to reach the factory floor through a translucent skylight.
Kahn had been interested in structures of this type for some time, having designed a prototype Parasol House in 1944 for use as prefabricated housing in the post-war years. Never built, it featured a flat roof supported by a slender column and was designed to be used either as a stand-alone housing unit or in combination with other units to form a linear structure. A precedent was the "Great Workroom" in the Johnson Wax Headquarters
, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
and completed in 1939.
Renzo Piano
, a young Italian architect with an established practice in Genoa, used his connections with the Olivetti company to gain the equivalent of an internship with Kahn for several months while the factory was being designed, working primarily on the roofing system. Piano went on to become a noted architect himself and in 2007 was chosen to design an additional building for the Kimbell Art Museum
, one of Louis Kahn's masterpieces.
Louis Kahn
Louis Isadore Kahn was an American architect, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935...
. Olivetti, an Italian company, commissioned Kahn in 1966 to design the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
building for the manufacture of their Underwood
Underwood (typewriter)
The Underwood Typewriter Company was a manufacturer of typewriters headquartered in New York City, New York. Underwood produced what is considered the first widely successful, modern typewriter...
line of typewriters and related products. It was completed in 1970.
Corporations don't usually hire famous architects to design their factory buildings, and those architects probably wouldn't be interested anyway because of the limited creative possibilities. Olivetti, however, "were then the most discerning patrons of industrial building - anywhere," and Kahn was happy to work for a client as sophisticated as Olivetti.
The key design limitation was that the factory floor needed to be as open as possible to enable rapid reconfiguration of equipment to meet changing market requirements. The easy way to meet this limitation would have been to build the factory as a steel frame
Steel frame
Steel frame usually refers to a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal -beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame...
structure, but Kahn didn't build any structures of that type after 1950, preferring the more monumental appearance he could achieve with materials like concrete and brick. Kahn, relying on the expertise of August Komendant
August Komendant
August E. Komendant was a structural engineer and a pioneer in the field of reinforced concrete, which can be used to build stronger and more graceful structures than normal concrete. He was born in Estonia and earned a doctorate in engineering in Germany. After World War II he immigrated to...
, a structural engineer and Kahn's preferred collaborator, instead designed the building as a concrete structure. Komendant was an authority on techniques for greatly increasing the strength of concrete by prestressing
Prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...
it, making it possible to build structures that are more graceful than would be possible with ordinary concrete.
The Olivetti-Underwood Factory consists of 72 prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete
Prestressed concrete is a method for overcoming concrete's natural weakness in tension. It can be used to produce beams, floors or bridges with a longer span than is practical with ordinary reinforced concrete...
units locked together in an 8x9 grid that is clearly visible in this aerial image on Google Maps. Each unit looks something like a square dish with clipped corners perched on top of a relatively thin concrete column. More precisely, the dish is a prismatic concrete shell 6 inches (15 cm) thick, 30 feet (9 m) above the factory floor and 60 feet (18 m) across, covering 3600 square feet (334 m²) of roof. Rain water drains from the roof down a pipe in the center of the column. Because the outer four corners of each unit are clipped, a void is left at the place where four units meet that allows natural light to reach the factory floor through a translucent skylight.
Kahn had been interested in structures of this type for some time, having designed a prototype Parasol House in 1944 for use as prefabricated housing in the post-war years. Never built, it featured a flat roof supported by a slender column and was designed to be used either as a stand-alone housing unit or in combination with other units to form a linear structure. A precedent was the "Great Workroom" in the Johnson Wax Headquarters
Johnson Wax Headquarters
Johnson Wax Headquarters is the world headquarters and administration building of S. C. Johnson & Son in Racine, Wisconsin. Designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the company's president, Herbert F. "Hib" Johnson, the building was constructed from 1936 to 1939...
, which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
and completed in 1939.
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano
Renzo Piano is an Italian architect. He is the recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Kyoto Prize and the Sonning Prize...
, a young Italian architect with an established practice in Genoa, used his connections with the Olivetti company to gain the equivalent of an internship with Kahn for several months while the factory was being designed, working primarily on the roofing system. Piano went on to become a noted architect himself and in 2007 was chosen to design an additional building for the Kimbell Art Museum
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts a small but excellent art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, who also provided funds for a new...
, one of Louis Kahn's masterpieces.