Designed by Sir David Adjaye, the Princeton University Art Museum has revealed the design for its new building. The structure will replace and almost double the square footage of the existing facility, which occupies a central location on Princeton's campus. Stone, bronze, and glass make up the core material building blocks of the new facility, speaking "both to the present moment and the historic Princeton context."
"Sir David’s architecture will invite visitors to see themselves as citizens of a broader set of communities, which in turn will, we hope, nurture a deeper sense of our shared humanity." said James Steward, the Museums's Nancy A. Nasher-David J. Haemisegger, Class of 1976 director in a statement. "The design will give us a building that fosters new modes of investigation, reflects and deepens our commitment to equity and inclusion and affords new moments of aspiration and inspiration."
The new Museum will occupy three stories and will feature seven primary interlocked pavilions containing new galleries. The exterior of the structure is characterized by alternating stone surfaces that move between a rough and polished finish. This undulating facade treatment creates a "push-pull" dynamic that heightens the aesthetic character of the building.
"The reconstruction of the Princeton University Art Museum is conceived as a campus within the campus," said Adjaye in a statement, "a space of genuine inquiry where the exhibition of diverse practices, learning as a synthesis of knowledge and cross-cultural connections weave together into a singular experience that encompasses a multiplicity of ideas and peoples."
The design includes outdoor terraces that minimize the separation between interior and exterior and includes spaces for performances and events that can accommodate 200 to 2,000 people. There is also a Grand Hall for lectures, performances, and events, in addition to classroom spaces and two 'creativity labs,' along with a rooftop cafe.
Cooper Robertson serves as executive architect on this project. It is due to begin construction in 2021 with an anticipated opening in late 2024.
3 Comments
Main hall feels very Exeter Library. Its a handsome project for sure.
Adjaye is a great architect, looking forward to seeing this completed.
This won't excite many people, but so what.
It is a reserved design that doesn't attempt to repeat with what probably would have been by another architect diluted reference to the architecture of the campus. Yet it complements the rest with its restraint and poise. And it is interesting and expressive, again in a restrained way. It breaks the monotony of the solid museum box with shifts and articulations joined in simple and direct statement.
The main mass floats above the first floor in a way that is not dramatic but seems natural. It reverses what he does in his Dirty House:
(I love this—photograph by Ed Reeve.)
From the pictures it looks substantial. Its materials, I assume, will have their say. It respects what it is: an art museum, one that doesn't try to upstage the art. I suspect the real strengths are in the interior, of which we get a glimpse. Art is framed in ways that highlight and respect but do not distract.
It's not a signature piece to draw attention to Adjaye, and for that I give him all the credit in the world.
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