November 1, 2006
The Campus Planning Framework
Jon D. Hafler
University Architect, Princeton University
Minutes of the Eighth Meeting of the 65th Year
The eighth meeting of the sixty-fifth year of the Old Guard of Princeton took place on November 1, 2006. President Joe Giordmaine called the 102 members present to order a 10: 15. The invocation was led by John Marks, minutes of the meeting of October 25th were read by Jerry Freedman.
Member Kenneth Barnhart introduced his guest, Dr. David Carver. Members Dick Armstrong and Bill Whipple introduced visitor Louis Barella.
President Giordmaine announced with regret the serious illness of member Jim Livingston. He is in Princeton Hospital, with visitors limited.
Membership handbooks are still available. Two mystery members still remain to be identified in our group photograph.
Professor K. Anthony Appiah of Princeton University will speak next week, introduced by David Dodge.
Dick Golden then introduced the speaker, John Hlafter, Princeton '61, Masters '63. Mr. Hlafter had been Campus Architect in the office of Physical Planning; in 2004, he was named the University Architect at Princeton by the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architecture.
Mr. Hlafter began his remarks with an invitation: Chancellor Green, Wednesday November 8th, open house from 3-7 for the results of the campus planning effort called Princeton In The Next Decade. All are invited to attend.
The Principles which have guided this planning are five: First, to keep Princeton a pedestrian-oriented campus, with Frist seen as its' center. Second, to preserve as much open space as possible. Third, to use the concept of "neighborhoods" beyond the historic core of the campus. Fourth, to build in an environmentally responsible manner, sensitive to geography and to energy and resource consumption. Fifth, to sustain strong community relations, especially in regards to parking, housing, traffic and public transportation.
There followed a brief biography of the University: in 1756, Nassau Hall housed students of the College of New Jersey, safe in bucolic Prince Town, far from the perils of Newark. Nassau Street was The King's Highway by 1856, there were two dormitories, two academic buildings, a house for the Vice-President, a Chapel. It was James McCosh, however, after the Civil War, who served from 1868-1888 who determined to make The College of New Jersey into a University. And so it became-a set of buildings in a park, with an athletic complex where the School of Engineering now stands. It was President Patton who officially named it a University, and in the next 35 years or so the iconic "collegiate gothic" Oxbridge style of architecture was adopted. In 1957, Sputnik burst upon the world, and Princeton, like so many other universities acted to increase scientific endeavors-to keep up with the Russians! The decade of 1960- 70 saw much growth, including additional dorms to accommodate the now co-educational population, and by 1996, the Lewis Thomas molecular biology building was complete-as was a new parking garage.
Planning now incorporates a strong impetus to restore a sense of broad, picturesque landscape and to make that natural landscape come into the campus center. Robust plantings of trees and careful watershed management contribute to this.
An ongoing challenge is managing the flow of University population that comes to the campus from the Southern end. This "back door" influx must be taken care of (parking garages) and transported (shuttle busses).
Aside from the main campus, there are developing three "neighborhoods": The Natural Sciences neighborhood on Washington Road at Armory Drive; the planned Arts neighborhood, on University Place and Alexander street, near McCarter Theatre, and the so-called "E-3 Zone" around the Engineering building. And where will new parking be? Come next week to the open house to find out!
The question period elicited further information: To bury Washington Road would mean entering Princeton through a "Lincoln Tunnel" and end in a traffic jam on Nassau Street. A bridge or bridges are not-near future possibilities. Hand rails are required, being installed, and their necessity recognized. And, amid other questions and considerations, everyone hopes that the Dinky will last forever!
Respectfully submitted,
Claire R. Jacobus
Member Kenneth Barnhart introduced his guest, Dr. David Carver. Members Dick Armstrong and Bill Whipple introduced visitor Louis Barella.
President Giordmaine announced with regret the serious illness of member Jim Livingston. He is in Princeton Hospital, with visitors limited.
Membership handbooks are still available. Two mystery members still remain to be identified in our group photograph.
Professor K. Anthony Appiah of Princeton University will speak next week, introduced by David Dodge.
Dick Golden then introduced the speaker, John Hlafter, Princeton '61, Masters '63. Mr. Hlafter had been Campus Architect in the office of Physical Planning; in 2004, he was named the University Architect at Princeton by the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architecture.
Mr. Hlafter began his remarks with an invitation: Chancellor Green, Wednesday November 8th, open house from 3-7 for the results of the campus planning effort called Princeton In The Next Decade. All are invited to attend.
The Principles which have guided this planning are five: First, to keep Princeton a pedestrian-oriented campus, with Frist seen as its' center. Second, to preserve as much open space as possible. Third, to use the concept of "neighborhoods" beyond the historic core of the campus. Fourth, to build in an environmentally responsible manner, sensitive to geography and to energy and resource consumption. Fifth, to sustain strong community relations, especially in regards to parking, housing, traffic and public transportation.
There followed a brief biography of the University: in 1756, Nassau Hall housed students of the College of New Jersey, safe in bucolic Prince Town, far from the perils of Newark. Nassau Street was The King's Highway by 1856, there were two dormitories, two academic buildings, a house for the Vice-President, a Chapel. It was James McCosh, however, after the Civil War, who served from 1868-1888 who determined to make The College of New Jersey into a University. And so it became-a set of buildings in a park, with an athletic complex where the School of Engineering now stands. It was President Patton who officially named it a University, and in the next 35 years or so the iconic "collegiate gothic" Oxbridge style of architecture was adopted. In 1957, Sputnik burst upon the world, and Princeton, like so many other universities acted to increase scientific endeavors-to keep up with the Russians! The decade of 1960- 70 saw much growth, including additional dorms to accommodate the now co-educational population, and by 1996, the Lewis Thomas molecular biology building was complete-as was a new parking garage.
Planning now incorporates a strong impetus to restore a sense of broad, picturesque landscape and to make that natural landscape come into the campus center. Robust plantings of trees and careful watershed management contribute to this.
An ongoing challenge is managing the flow of University population that comes to the campus from the Southern end. This "back door" influx must be taken care of (parking garages) and transported (shuttle busses).
Aside from the main campus, there are developing three "neighborhoods": The Natural Sciences neighborhood on Washington Road at Armory Drive; the planned Arts neighborhood, on University Place and Alexander street, near McCarter Theatre, and the so-called "E-3 Zone" around the Engineering building. And where will new parking be? Come next week to the open house to find out!
The question period elicited further information: To bury Washington Road would mean entering Princeton through a "Lincoln Tunnel" and end in a traffic jam on Nassau Street. A bridge or bridges are not-near future possibilities. Hand rails are required, being installed, and their necessity recognized. And, amid other questions and considerations, everyone hopes that the Dinky will last forever!
Respectfully submitted,
Claire R. Jacobus