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.

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."

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.

The architects who did the restoration—Kevin Roche and his partner, John Dinkeloo—worked under Saarinen at the time he designed the Yale Whale.

Like any building that's stood for 50 years, the stadium needed upgrades like new lighting and repairs to cracks in the concrete structure.

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.

To accommodate state-of-the-art training facilities and coaches' offices, KRJD built a swooping entrance that leads to an underground expansion.

Here, the walkway skirts the outside of one of the weight-lifting areas.

The old coaches' offices were a quarter-mile away from Ingalls. The new offices are in the building, as are brand new locker rooms.