Much of my train travel involved design and check-out of airport sound systems. One of the earliest was Eero Saarinen's "TWA Idlewild" terminal with its concrete gullwing ceiling. Since no loudspeakers could be imbedded in the ceiling, as ruled by the architect, the result was an innovative central cluster, with a ball-like clock added later. Possibly this system, now about 48 years old, is still in use. Lots of trips on the Owl, Merchants, Yankee Clipper, Senator, costs for a stoppover at the trolley museum in Branford and East Haven paid for, and lots of trips on the through Boston - Detroit sleeper, switched from the New England States to the Wolverine, usually in Buffalo. Of course I had to fly lots of times, but mostly went by train. Similarly, work at Wold Chamberlan Field in Minneapolis - St. Paul had me on the Milwaukee's Pioneer and the Burlington's Black Hawk, but very seldom was this in connection with a continuation to or from Boston on the New England States, mostly it involved stop-overs or combination plane and train trips. Wold Chamberlan was the first airport sound system to use coaxial loudspeakers in a distributed ceiling system. Saarinen again was the architect for Dulles Airport, again involving trips to Detroit as well as use of the Federal to Washington, and the real innovation on that system was that is had the very first sound system in the world that has the volume varied according to the noise present. The reason I am making this posting is that on page 161 of Marc J. Frattasio's excellent book THE NEW HAVEN RAILROAD IN THE MCGINNIS ERA, are pictures of two architects that I worked with, Eero Saarinen and Minoru Yamasaki. I am working on long-range project of a Hebrew Language architectural textbook, and Dulles has to be included in discussion of "AGC", automatic gain control, and its various forms and functions. Fortunately, on a trip to Great Britian in 1962 to ride behind steam, I photographed the Dulles interior and thus can have added a picture of the architect, publisher's and author's permission provided of course, and with due credit. And now, because of Marc Frattasio's work, I have the portaits of both architects on one of my apartment walls!
So one night I lay awake. I've got Saarinen in my book, but what about Yamasake? True, a color view of the interior front of Beth El Synagogue in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, will be on the cover, but I cannot put Yama's photo on the cover. Then it occured to me, but I could use some comment on the answer.
All governments have the problem of what to do with old paper money. So machines are manufacutured called currency shredders. These do their work thoroughly, but they produce lots of noise and vibration. With the outside help of my former boss at Bolt Beranek and Newman's Downers Grove, IL, office (1967-1970), in the 1980's I worked on two buildings that had these machines in their basements: The Federal Reserve Bank Building in Richmond, VA, which as recounted in Doug Riddell's FROM THE CAB, is on former Seaboard Airline railroad yard property, and the larger of the two Saudi Arabian towers in Ryadh, Saudi Arabia, with Minoru Yamasaki the architect.
Designing a building with a currency shredder in the basement, and particularly with an auditorium and/or conference and meeting rooms above, is not something the average architect in Israel whose needs are not currently met by one of the several English text books, is likely to encounter, still, including this important noise and vibration control project may be a good idea. I will appreciate your viewpoint, and anyone who wants their response to be confidential, rather than on this forum, can send email to daveklepper@yahoo.com
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