ML: Princeton’s Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding

Boston-based Anna Beha Architects (”ABA”) has designed a renovation and expansion of Princeton University’s Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, whose building dates from 1901 and was formerly one of the school’s eating clubs. The project recently broke ground and contemplates a 5080-square-foot addition to the original, Italianate-style base building, which will house 18,8000 square feet of programming, office, and classroom space. The architect’s challenge was to reclaim the building’s original design, which it discovered through researching the university’s archives had been buried by a series of poorly executed previous renvovations. ABA was charged with creating useable outdoor space, as well as visible entry points into the structure, which it accomplished by emphasizing the building’s original hipped roof and overhanging cornice. The Center is located at 58 Prospect Avenue and, upon completion next summer, will feature upgraded HVAC, electrical, and fire safety systems. ABA specified numerous sustainable design features equivalent to the LEED Silver level, though it’s unclear whether the university will pursue a formal rating from USGBC. The Center will open in time for Princeton’s fall 2009 semester; the project is being built by WS Cumby & Sons Builders and Construction Managers.

• Fields Center Plans Move (Princeton)
• Fields Center (World Architecture)

ML is short for our weekly Monday LEEDoff™ column, which typically profiles a different LEED project generally in (but not limited to) the New York City area. You can access an archive of profiled projects via this link.