Princeton University
Center for Human Values, Louis Marx Jr. ’53 Hall
Located at the center of the campus the modest 16,000 square foot addition to the Philosophy Department extends the existing 1879 Hall along Washington Road and marks the entry to McCosh Walk. The project provides twenty-two faculty offices, a student word processing space and a departmental library in a separately articulated three-story volume. Two 600-square foot classrooms, a double-height conference room, and a mechanical penthouse are arranged in a four-story tower which is rotated to align with McCosh Hall and to form a gateway to a major campus pedestrian route.
The octagonal staircase volume acts as a pivot of this rotation which brings light to the interior and affords views of the library, plaza and pool across the road.
In addition to the new construction, a faculty lounge and administration center were provided by renovation in the existing building.
In its massing, gabled forms and materials the new structure extends the themes of the adjoining historic building in conjunction with the contemporary scale, and figuration of the window assemblies and the modern style of the interiors.