The six-story Gothic Revival structure, designed by Trautwein & Howard,[3] was completed in 1956 and serves as the primary facility of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Biological Sciences.

[3] The building features a diagonally-positioned entrance that creates a direct axis with the Cathedral of Learning which is framed in Clapp Hall's stone portal entryway.

[3] The lobby of Clapp Hall is streamlined Art Deco in character, with terrazzo flooring and stainless steel doors, and is thus more stylistically modern than its exterior which is meant to reflect the Cathedral of Learning.

The triangular courtyard at the southwest entry to Clapp Hall, facing the Cathedral of Learning, was modified in 2004 to accommodate trees and benches.

[5] Clapp Hall originally housed Pitt's Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Metallurgy, and Chemical Engineering.