Princeton University opens new Porphyrios-designed collegiate gothic dormitory
While many colleges and universities are building cutting edge modern buildings, Princeton is banking on its strong tradition of Collegiate Gothic architecture. While Princeton has built a number of modern buildings, including a Gehry- designed Science Library that is under construction and the recently completed Vinoly-designed Genomics building, the University has made a decided move to build its residential colleges in the Collegiate Gothic style.
The latest dormitory building to be rolled out is Whitman College, designed by the London based Porphryios Associates, led by Demetri Porphyrios, a Princeton Alumni. The $ 136 million project is actually a complex of ten buildings housing 250,000 square feet, situated around two courtyards and a campus green. In addition to providing housing for 500 undergraduates and 50 graduate students the complex includes multiple study spaces, a 65-seat theatre, a dance practice room, computer rooms, seminar rooms and a main dining hall with two semi-private dining rooms.
Whitman has been built to exacting standards, so much so, that the buildings look as though they have been on campus for centuries. More than 6,000 tons of five types of fieldstone were used in its construction. The roofs are slate and the windows are custom made, triple-glazed mahogany casements with leaded glass.
|
