One of the jewels in New Jersey’s cultural crown is Princeton University’s Art Museum, which was established in 1882, and whose present collection exceeds 110,000 objects. The museum is known for its Greek and Roman antiquities and Western European paintings. It also has a noteworthy collection of Asian art, as well as an extensive photography array.
But like most other institutions, Princeton’s museum only has enough space to exhibit a tiny fraction of its collection. Last month, the Art Museum unveiled the designs for a new 144,000-sf museum that would double the size of the existing building. James Steward, the museum’s director, estimates that the percentage of objects on view from permanent collections would triple to 6% in the new building, from 2% in the existing museum. And elements of visible storage will be featured throughout the new building.
Demolition of the existing museum—which is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic—is expected to begin in the middle of next year, with the goal of reopening in the new museum by late 2024.
CAMPUS ART MUSEUM DESIGN ALLOWS FOR GREATER ACCESS, CIRCULATION
Architect Sir David Adjaye’s three-story design breaks down the mass of the museum by creating nine interlocking cubes that relate to the scale of the university structures around it. (The current museum is located in the middle of the university’s wooded main campus.) Adjaye Associates collaborated on the museum’s design with executive architect Cooper Robertson.
There will be six ground-floor entrances in the new building (as opposed to one in the existing museum), making what Adjaye calls “a museum in the round.” The design also creates two enclosed “art walks” running north-south and east-west through the building’s ground floor.
A singular “lens” moment at the complex’s northeast corner creates an intimate viewing and reading room, affords views onto the campus, and shapes a display opportunity for unique works from the collections. Image: Adjaye Associates
Each of the museum’s seven pavilions will include intimate spaces made from bronze and glass. All of the galleries will be on the second floor, a move that’s intended to smudge the lines that traditionally demarcate art by geography and historical period.
A CAMPUS WITHING A CAMPUS, THE ART MUSEUM WILL BE A DYNAMIC LEARNING CENTER
The double-height Grand Hall sits at the heart of the Museum complex and will function as a lecture hall and performance space that will host many of the Museum’s larger events. Image: Adjaye Associates
The design also includes outdoor terraces and spaces for performance and events that can accommodate anywhere from 200 to 2,000 people. These spaces include a hall for lectures, performances, and events; classrooms, two labs and a rooftop café. The design also shapes a new home for the University’s Department of Art & Archaeology, while retaining Marquand Library. Together, the three units would create a campus within a campus, and will continue to function as a dynamic center for research and teaching.
“I want the building to feel that it’s not just a hall of sacred objects but as … a common hall, so students can just go there if they feel like it and want to work close to those objects,” says Adjaye, whose firm was selected for this project in 2018. “If they have a compelling urge to see an incredible print or a sculpture or a delicate ceramic or bronze piece, it becomes a resource.”
The new museum will be built on the site of the older building, and be home to the university's Art & Archeology department. Image; Princeton University Art Museum
Steward, the museum’s director, told the Art Newspaper that 98% of the funds for the construction have been raised. He declined to disclose the construction cost.
Adjaye Associates has several prominent museum projects under its belt. It was one of several architect firms involved in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. The firm also designed the Studio Museum that’s under construction in Harlem in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Denver, and the Ruby City art center in San Antonio.
Adjaye also served as a visiting professor at Princeton’s School of Architecture from 2008 to 2010.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Feb 6, 2023
2022 Reconstruction Sector Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. building reconstruction and renovation sector
Gensler, Stantec, IPS, Alfa Tech, STO Building Group, and Turner Construction top BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest reconstruction sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Steel Buildings | Feb 3, 2023
Top 10 structural steel building projects for 2023
A Mies van der Rohe-designed art and architecture school at Indiana University and Morphosis Architects' Orange County Museum of Art in Costa Mesa, Calif., are among 10 projects to win IDEAS² Awards from the American Institute of Steel Construction.
Giants 400 | Feb 1, 2023
2022 Cultural Facilities Giants: Top architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. cultural facilities sector
Populous, DLR Group, KPFF, Arup, and Turner Construction head BD+C's rankings of the nation's largest cultural facilities sector architecture, engineering, and construction firms, as reported in the 2022 Giants 400 Report. Building types include museums, public libraries, performing arts centers, and concert venues.
Museums | Jan 18, 2023
Building memory: Why interpretive centers matter in an era of social change
The last few years have borne witness to some of the most rapid cultural shifts in our nation’s long history. If the experience has taught us anything, it is that we must find a way to keep our history in view, while also putting it in perspective.
Museums | Oct 25, 2022
Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion emphasizes human connection to oceans
Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion, currently under construction, features several exhibits that examine the human connection with the Earth’s oceans.
| Sep 1, 2022
The University of Iowa opens the new Stanley Museum of Art, a public museum for both discovering and teaching art
The University of Iowa recently completed its new Stanley Museum of Art, a public teaching museum designed by BNIM.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 90 Construction Management Firms for 2022
CBRE, Alfa Tech, Jacobs, and Hill International head the rankings of the nation's largest construction management (as agent) and program/project management firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 19, 2022
2022 Giants 400 Report: Tracking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now 46 years running, Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report rankings the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. This year a record 519 AEC firms participated in BD+C's Giants 400 report. The final report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
| Aug 19, 2022
Manassas Museum renovated to reimagine a civic design & engage the community
Manassas, VA has recently added to its historic Manassas Museum.
Cultural Facilities | Aug 5, 2022
A time and a place: Telling American stories through architecture
As the United States enters the year 2026, it will commence celebrating a cycle of Sestercentennials, or 250th anniversaries, of historic and cultural events across the land.