The Rubenstein Commons, a building designed by New York’s Steven Holl Architects (SHA) has opened at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Princeton, New Jersey.
The 17,175 sq ft building will act as a social hub and will be integrated into the surrounding landscape and the IAS’ 1939 Fuld Hall, where Albert Einstein spent his last academic years.
20 geothermal wells powered by the seasonal temperature will heat and cool the building through the floor.
Power will be reduced as natural light and air will enter the building through wood framed windows.
The four seasons are reflected in each side of the facility: spring on the east side with pink blooming redbuds; summer to the south with green ginkgo trees and purple Russian Sage flowers; autumn to the west with red maples; and winter to the north with a border of white pines and American hollies.
David Nirenberg, IAS director, said: “With the opening of this forum for curiosity, discovery, and critique, we celebrate the Institute’s enduring commitment to the nourishment of the global collective intellect.
“This is a place whose beauty will stimulate contemplation and whose space will invite the dialogue necessary for questioning at its most profound.”
