Olivetti-Underwood Factory
Pennsylvania, United States
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Completed in 1970, the Olivetti-Underwood Factory in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, represents a distinctive collaboration between Italian manufacturer Olivetti and renowned architect Louis Kahn. Commissioned in 1966 to design a facility for typewriter production, Kahn rejected conventional steel-frame construction in favor of a monumental concrete solution. Working with structural engineer August Komendant, an expert in prestressed concrete techniques, Kahn devised an innovative 72-unit system arranged in an 8-by-9 grid. Each unit comprises a prismatic concrete shell, 6 inches thick and 60 feet across, supported on a slender column and designed to resemble a shallow dish with clipped corners. This configuration allowed the expansive, unobstructed factory floor necessary for rapid equipment reconfiguration while creating voids at unit intersections that admit natural light through translucent skylights. The design exemplified Olivetti's reputation as a discerning patron of industrial architecture and demonstrated Kahn's commitment to achieving monumental grace through engineered concrete rather than conventional structural methods.
Architect
Movement
- Type
- building
- Place
- Pennsylvania, United States
This building on
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