New Obelisk, Skating Rink To Adorn Graduate Center

Walter Gropius explained last night that the pylon being completed in the courtyard of the Graduate Center will be "the beautiful stainless steel construction" that will add a final grandeur to the design of the Center.

The thin, spiralling design is the creation of Richard Lippord, an artist in the molding of stainless steel. It is expected that erection of the nameless structure will be finished within a month.

Winter weather will add another attraction at the Center. A six inch depression extending from the terrace walk to the diagonal path in front of Harkness Commons will be flooded to provide a skating rink. Water taps, already installed, will deluge the area at the first opportunity.

Other Murals

Among the interior furnishings yet to be incorporated into the Center is a mural for the large dining room. Juan Miro, designer of the mural, is described by Gropins as "the world's greatest painter of modern murals." The mural, presently on exhibit in Paris, will be brought to America and probably installed in the Center before Christmas vacation.

In addition, small mural maps, depicting the geological evolution of the world, will appear on the walls of the dormitories' small lounge rooms soon after the new year.

Gropius recently acted as judge in a contest to name a mural by Herbert Bayer on one wall of the Harkness Commons dining hall. The winning title was "The Garden of Eden."