Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Tapped for Princeton Research Facility
The centerpiece of the project will be the 100,000-square-foot Andlinger Laboratory.
Nicholas Tamarin -- Interior Design, 2/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California; Photo by Michael Moran.
Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has become the latest boldface firm to tackle Princeton University's burgeoning new Campus Plan, joining an all-star architectural mix that includes heavy hitters like Gehry Partners and Steven Holl Architects.
The New York–based, husband-and-wife principals and Interior DesignHall of Fame members were tapped to design the proposed Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment. A two-year design phase is anticipated for the research facility, funded in part by a $100 million gift from international business executive and alumnus Gerhard Andlinger. An official groundbreaking date will be scheduled once additional funding and local government approvals are secured.
Skirkanich Hall in Philadelphia; C.V. Starr East Asian Library in Berkeley, California; Photos by Michael Moran.
Focused on unearthing sustainable solutions, the center’s 100,000-square-foot Andlinger Laboratory will be subdivided into shared labs, each devoted to different research sectors, including photonics for combustion diagnostics, energy storage, remote sensing for environmental applications, and solar cell technology. The center will conduct research on improving energy efficiency and conservation, developing sustainable energy sources, and finding new methods of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Hailing the new facility as "a state-of-the-art laboratory" and "model of sustainable design," Pablo Debenedetti, vice dean of Princeton's School of Engineering and Applied Science, describes the structure as "a pedagogical and research laboratory that incorporates sophisticated instrumentation to monitor the interaction between the built environment and its surroundings."
This isn't the first time Williams and Tsien have been lured to the Ivy Leaguer's New Jersey campus. The duo's design of Feinberg Hall, a dormitory completed in 1986, received an American Institute of Architects honor award in 1988.
Images courtesy of Princeton University.
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