From the Archives

The History of the Science Building

In February, Head of School Peter Becker shared with current families and faculty that Sasaki, an interdisciplinary design firm located outside of Boston, had been selected as the architect for a science, math and technology center project on campus. We looked into the Paula and George Krimsky ’60 Archives and Special Collections to learn more about the history of where science has been taught on campus.

According to “Gunnery Stories,” a history of the school compiled by the late Paula Gibson Krimsky, planning for the current Science Building began in 1965, “although the need for one had been apparent much earlier. The first science labs were installed in the schoolhouse in 1893 when the school engaged John Perkins to teach chemistry and physics. There were places for six students in the lab,” Krimsky wrote, noting that Perkins went on to found in 1903 what is now Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

In her 2019 Gunn Scholar report, “How Everything Came to Be,” Joey Lin ’19 cited an article from The Gunnery News, published in May 1966, announcing plans for a new Science Building. The school engaged the architectural firm of Gilbert Switzer of New Haven, and the late Augustus Kellogg ’52 was the associate in charge of the project.

The Science Building circa 2015 Construction began in 1966. A dedication ceremony took place on May 20, 1967, as part of the 73rd annual Alumni Day festivities. Tours of the building were offered in the afternoon. There were 250 guests in attendance, Lin said, noting that Headmaster

Ogden D. Miller H’69 P’50 ’54 ’55

GP’84 was credited as a driving force Gus Kellogg ’52 behind the project. Program notes on file in the archives show F. Bruce Bradshaw ’51, President of the Alumni Association, participated in the ribbon cutting along with Ned Swigart P’82, Chairman of the Science Department, Switzer, Kellogg, Edmund Sinnott, Ph.D., Sterling Professor Emeritus of Botany at Yale University, and Lloyd Elston ’44 P’68 ’70 GP’05 ’06 ’10, Chairman of the Board of Trustees. A computer lab was added to the Science Building in the early The schoolhouse, shown in this photo from the archives, circa 1890s, 1970s, Gunn Scholar Gwendolyn Brown ’20 noted in her report, was designed by Ehrick Rossiter of the Class of 1870, and built in “The Gunnery’s Adoption of Technology.” Computer programming 1882 under the administration of Headmaster John C. Brinsmade. classes were taught there, and by 1974, three students had formed a

Background: Plans for the new building showed laboratories for basic science, biology, chemistry and physics on the second floor. The first floor would include a supervised study area, faculty work area, and a lecture hall that could be utilized for Glee Club meetings, play rehearsals, movies for biology or French classes, and other school functions, The Gunnery News said. An addition with space for math and history classrooms was never built. It would have been located on the path between the current Science Building and Bourne Hall.

Mark Alan Lipschutz ’67 won first prize for best exterior for his photograph of the Science Building in the Headmaster’s Contest of 1967.

A physics class in the 1940s

Thomas Thornbury ’54 in a photograph from the Red and Gray, which listed him as a Science Fair Exhibitor. His yearbook page included a quote from British geneticist J.B. S. Haldane, “Science is vastly more stimulating to the imagination than the classics.”

Computer Club, which was granted priority access to the lab, Brown said. In 2004, the original lecture hall was converted to a technology center where BJ Daniels, Director of Technology, Anna Kjellson, webmaster, and Bill Stinson conducted advanced computer classes, software and network tutorials, Krimsky said. In 2017, the computer lab was redesigned as today’s IDEAS Lab.

In 2016, Gunn Scholar Evan Johnson ’16, Head Prefect Ata Ugur ’16, Jeremiah Yoon ’16, and Aidan Bond ’16, initiated an Independent Study Project to redesign the Science Building. Their plans for a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

(STEM) Center proposed adding a third floor with additional classroom and lab space as well as greenhouse and observatory. As an example of Brutalist architecture, the Science Building has been the subject of debate, Gunn Scholar Tony Zhang ’19 observed. “It does not make an effort to blend in with the rest of the campus, as it ignores the philosophies of our founders. The concrete stands as an opposing factor to what the founders of The Gunnery stood for — A computer lab was added to the environmentalism and preserving nature,” Zhang said. Science Building in the early 1970s. “It’s a very much mid-century modern building,” Geoffrey Gaunt, the architect of the Thomas S. Perakos Arts and Community Center, said of the Science Building in Zhang’s report. “It’s great in that sense, but it’s very different from anything else on campus. Many people who aren’t as educated in architectural history might think it’s a bad idea, but to me, it’s actually a very interesting building.”

This photo of the Science Building under construction was taken by Ian J. Cohen ’67 P’06 who won prizes for best detail and best night shot in photo contests that were held in conjunction with the dedication.