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Tolman's Architecture:
Take Another LookThe award-winning architecture of Tolman Hall yields pleasures for those willing to look again.Tolman Hall is a period piece, an example of mid-20th century modernist design. Part of this period atmosphere is exemplified by the terrazzo of the ground floor lobby. Terrazzo is a neglected art that was once popular for the pavements under movie marquees. To make terrazzo, a craftsperson portions off sections with thin, bright metallic dividers, and pours in colored concrete according to a design, like large-scale cloisonne. The craftsperson then embeds many little stones in the wet concrete, and sands them down when the concrete hardens, forming a flat polished surface. This terrazzo motif continues up the stairways in Tolman Hall.
The Education-Psychology Library, with its open view of the Italian stone pines and the hill leading to the chancellor's residence, also is a strong point of the building. Originally, UC President Clark Kerr wanted the library to include an outdoor reading area under the pine trees, but the librarians vetoed this plan as bad for security. Instead, the library extends outward, but in a scenic, glassed-in space. The pines are a reminder of the agricultural buildings that occupied the site before Tolman Hall.
Right outside the library in the second floor lobby three red mosaic columns that are also classic late 50s design.
The molded concrete brise soleil panels affixed to the outside of the building have a sculptural quality to them. Some panels have a diamond pattern, echoing the pointed arches of the breezeway. Others use a trapezoid motif.
The breezeway might be the building's most dramatic element. The entire weight of four stories of the middle of the building is balanced on only sixteen supports, creating a tension that rivets the eye.
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