Gallery: The World's Most Beautiful Hockey Rink Gets a Big Upgrade

  • Image may contain Architecture Building Convention Center City Town Downtown Urban Tent and Office Building
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    01

    DSCN0513

    Eero Saarinen's Ingalls Rink, affectionately called the Yale Whale, recently underwent a renovation. The architects who led the delicate initiative just won a prestigious restoration award for their work.
  • Image may contain Building Architecture and Art
    Architectural Record, courtesy of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    02

    1IngallsRink-ArchRecord-October1958-Page-1

    Saarinen completed the hockey rink building in 1958. A critique in the December 1958 issue of Architectural Forum called it “one of the most surprising new buildings in the world."
  • Image may contain Building and Architecture
    Architectural Record, courtesy of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    03

    1IngallsRink-ArchRecord-October1958-Page-5

    Personality was the point. When it was built, Ingalls Rink was remote from the rest of campus. It needed to attract students and visitors to be successful.
  • Image may contain Human Person Sport Sports Skating Ice Skating and Rink
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    04

    Yale-Rink-012010

    The architects who did the restoration—Kevin Roche and his partner, John Dinkeloo—worked under Saarinen at the time he designed the Yale Whale.
  • Image may contain Human Person Sport Sports Light Traffic Light Rink Ice Skating and Skating
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    05

    Yale-Rink1-012010

    Like any building that's stood for 50 years, the stadium needed upgrades like new lighting and repairs to cracks in the concrete structure.
  • Image may contain Human Person Sport Sports Ice Skating Rink and Skating
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    06

    Yale-Rink3-012010

    It also needed to adapt to reflect collegiate sports today. In the 1950s, it was more like club sports. Today, it's a competitive business—one that now includes women's teams.
  • Image may contain Dome Architecture Building Planetarium Grass Plant Bush and Vegetation
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    07

    1Yale-Ext1-012010

    To accommodate state-of-the-art training facilities and coaches' offices, KRJD built a swooping entrance that leads to an underground expansion.
  • Image may contain Banister Handrail Corridor and Building
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    08

    Yale-Entryway-012010

    Here, the walkway skirts the outside of one of the weight-lifting areas.
  • Image may contain Furniture Chair Human Person Indoors Room Cafeteria and Restaurant
    Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates LLC
    09

    Yale-Int2-012010

    The old coaches' offices were a quarter-mile away from Ingalls. The new offices are in the building, as are brand new locker rooms.
Read More
Spooky New Infostealer Malware Uses AI to ‘Autodox’ Victims
Named “Volta-Autodoxer,” the recently uncovered malware uses AI tools to collect troves of data about victims, from login credentials and credit card numbers to Discord sessions and UberEats receipts.
Lily Hay Newman
Light Up Your Home Like Christmas With These Smart String Lights
Glow up your home indoors or out with these versatile, discounted, full color smart string lights. They’re WIRED-tested and 25 percent off right now.
Simon Hill
There’s a Completely New Type of Whisky. It’s French and Made in Concrete Eggs
The founders of Maison Lineti are, in a world first, making single malt whisky as if it were wine—and the spirit world is mighty impressed.
Jeremy White
Power Outages Are No Match for This Fridge Battery
Backup by BioLite is designed to power your fridge when the grid goes down. It works, but protecting your ice cream doesn’t come cheap.
Christopher Null
Meta’s Muse Could Upend All Kinds of Businesses. It Hasn’t Yet
Companies have spent the past several weeks trying to reassure investors that Muse and other AI agents pose more of an opportunity than a threat.
Paresh Dave
An AI Agent Injected Drugs Into a Live Mouse’s Brain
A biotech startup let an agent choose a gene therapy and successfully inject the treatment, offering a startling glimpse of the future of research labs.
Emily Mullin
Get Bose QC Headphones at Their Lowest Price Ever
They’re a steal at over 40 percent off in multiple colors. Plus, other great Bose deals you should know about ahead of Black Friday.
Harry Rabinowitz
The Keurig Alta Brewer Can Do It All, With No Plastic Pods
This multifaceted home coffee brewer and its new AltaRounds will make you rethink everything you know about Keurig machines.
Louryn Strampe
Are Memories Transferable? Meet the Scientists Replicating an Infamous Study to Find Out
In the 1960’s, an odd experiment showed planarian worms could transfer memories by consuming each other. It was a sensational finding—that is until the worms stopped learning.
Claire L. Evans
Sunrise Alarm Clocks to Help You Adjust to Shorter Days
I’ve never been a morning person. This bedside gadget is the only thing that’s ever changed that.
Nena Farrell
White Dwarfs Aren’t Just White. Scientists Discover Dying Stars Turning Pink and Green
Astronomers find that a white dwarf’s density and the kind of material it absorbed from its surroundings can produce a rainbow of shades in the star’s atmosphere.
Petr Kubala
Wayfair Coupons for November 2026
Get 10% off with Wayfair promo code, up to 80% off furniture, and more top coupons.
Molly Higgins