British firm Adjaye Associates and New York’s Cooper Robertson have been selected to design an art museum for Princeton University.
The museum will be located at the same site as its predecessor, but will have more space for exhibitions, conservation, study and visitor amenities.
The design is integrated into the university, with seven pavilions across three storeys. The aim was to avoid overshadowing other campus buildings, and create varied gallery sizes.
Numerous bronze and glass "lenses" are positioned between the pavilions, which will contain the Marquand Library, the Department of Art & Archaeology and spaces that can accommodate between 200 and 2,000 people.
In the current facility, only 2% of the museum’s 110,000-item collection can be viewed; in the replacement, storage units will be placed throughout to display more of the pieces.
Sir David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates’ founder, said: "The reconstruction of the art museum is conceived as a campus within the campus. A space of genuine inquiry where the exhibition of diverse practices, learning as a synthesis of knowledge, and cross-cultural connections weave together into a singular experience that encompasses a multiplicity of ideas and peoples."
Images courtesy of Princeton University
