LEWIS
ARTS COMPLEX
NEW JERSEY, NJ
The Princeton University Lewis Arts Complex, in honor of the late Peter B. Lewis (1933 – 2013), is composed of three contemporary buildings that share a common reception area. The building houses an art gallery, a black box theater, a dance studio, and a music rehearsal room. The building uses a combination of stone and glass to create a transparency that will allow views into the arts activities. The natural grade of the site also promotes public access and visibility of performance spaces from University Place, Alexander Street, and the transit plaza. The $350-million multi-facility complex opened its doors to the Princeton community in October 2017.
Princeton envisions minimizing carbon footprint by integrating sustainable features, such as 140 geothermal wells, green roofs, mixed mode ventilation system, radiant heating and cooling, high-performance envelope, LED lighting, daylight harvesting, and rainwater collection. The three buildings incorporated passive design strategies, such as optimal building orientation, shading, natural ventilation, and thermal mass. Environmental stewardship through the use of recyclable materials resulted in a high-performance integrated building equivalent to LEED Silver Certification.
This project was completed at BNIM in Kansas City, where I served as an Architectural Designer, contributing to the construction documents phase.
Arts · higher education
Princeton, New Jersey
The Lewis Arts Complex at Princeton University brings theater, dance, music, and visual arts together in three interconnected buildings. Designed by Steven Holl Architects in partnership with BNIM, the complex links the campus with the adjacent transit arrival and surrounding community. An underground Forum connects the buildings, and stone and glass create views into arts activities. A plaza and reflecting pool bring daylight to gathering spaces below, while specialized rooms support rehearsal and performance.
As an Architectural Designer at BNIM, I contributed to the construction documents for the wider project team. I developed architectural documents and coordinated interfaces with structural, mechanical, and acoustic disciplines for rehearsal and performance spaces.
The complex includes a gallery, a black box theater, a dance studio, and music rehearsal spaces. Environmental strategies described in the project record include geothermal wells, green roofs, daylight harvesting, and rainwater collection.
Architecture: Steven Holl Architects in partnership with BNIM | Images: original project materials