Swarthmore College Kohlberg Hall

Swarthmore, PA

Although our renovation of Trotter Hall brought that historic building up to contemporary standards, the College still required more academic space. The first element in the implementation of the building component of our master plan, Kohlberg Hall fulfills the plan’s essential principles in its siting and design.

Located in the heart of the campus, the new building addresses and links different environments on each side: its north elevation, modest and simple, completes the fourth side of an open quadrangle; to the south, its U-shaped configuration embraces an animated courtyard, shared with Parrish Hall. The arms creating that shape are deliberately uneven, responding to an existing diagonal pedestrian pathway that crosses the site. Following the aesthetic traditions of the existing structures, Kohlberg Hall’s stone cladding matches that of the nearby older buildings and lends it their substance and permanence; its height and compact footprint follows a well-established pattern; and its relationship to its surroundings makes it a good neighbor to both the built and the natural environment.

In designing Kohlberg Hall, we sought not only to provide much-needed space, but to enable and enhance the Swarthmore experience. To signal its role as a new academic hub, we created a rotated stone tower with a chamfered roof and sundial. At ground level, the building’s transparency blurs the line between the outdoors and the interior, where the North Campus Commons gives students a comfortable lounge in which to meet and relax. In addition to the Commons, Kohlberg is home to three academic departments, including faculty and departmental offices; full-size classrooms and intimate seminar rooms; a faculty lounge; and a language lab. Throughout, the building is filled with natural light, accentuating the elegant details, enlivening the spaces, and making Kohlberg Hall an inviting and vital new participant in Swarthmore’s educational tradition.