Smith Hall Interior (Lobby), University of Delaware
Sep 1st, 2006, by Alex Zorach
This is a photo that took me a long time and many unsuccessful attempts to capture. I wanted the photo to come out well, but I also wanted it to depict the dreary, dark gray interior of this building in an honest fashion. This photo shows the lobby or main central gathering place in Smith Hall on the University of Delaware's campus. When I was a grad student at the University of Delaware, I both took and taught classes in this building, which was located nearby and diagonally across from Ewing Hall, the main location of the mathematics department. This is a busy building on campus, and there is lots of activity here at all times of day and night. The class is used for day and night classes, and at night, student organizations make frequent use of the space, with small groups holding meetings in the smaller classrooms and larger groups meeting or showing movies in some of the four large lecture halls, which are preferred for their good AV equipment.
Smith Hall is a behemoth of a building, exemplifying both the worst of 70's architecture, and some of the few odd pieces of charm of the institutional architecture that this era produced.
Most of the buildings designed and built during this time period were designed with the primary intention of being riot-proof. Large open spaces like the lobby and staircase here are relatively uncommon, making the space pictured here somewhat unusual. Also unusual for this period, this building has relatively easy roof access. However, this building exhibits many of the other riot-proofing characteristics, including many different entrances and several small stairwells in out-of-the-way places, small, narrow windows, and many different spaces in the building that are difficult to access. Also, the four large lecture halls are only accessible from outside doors.
The building as a whole is maze-like. There are many areas of it that are difficult and unintuitive to access. Although the lobby looks straightforward, with a broad central staircase ascending to the second floor with a balcony around the edge, lined by classrooms, there are winding and confusing corridors on the third floor. This photo is taken from the third floor, looking through a window that overlooks the central area. The basement houses a computer lab, and the main staircase heading to the basement is somewhat secluded.
The colorful banners with light pastel hues impart a certain life and lightness to this otherwise cold, imposing, and utterly lifeless building.