An 85,000-sf addition and 100,000-sf building renovation combined to create a multi-purpose campus center for Princeton University.
The project to create the Frist Campus Center included adaptive reuse renovation of Palmer Hall, a three-story structure designed by H.J. Hardenbergh and built in 1908. Since no drawings for the building were available, engineers performed extensive field investigative work to document the structural system of flat terra cotta tile arches, steel beams, and brick masonry bearing walls. Using a variety of methods and equipment - including magnetic and impulse radar scanners - the building was surveyed and, as necessary, discretely probed. From the information in the survey, floor live load capacities were calculated, compared to current requirements, and the floors locally reinforced as necessary to accommodate new uses. Additional renovations included installation of a new elevator and mechanical systems, penetrations through bearing walls, and stabilization of foundations to enable the adjacent excavation.
The new five-level addition uses a composite cast-in-place/precast concrete frame designed to meet the requirements of Seismic Performance Category C. Significant features of the new addition include the installation of a ground stabilization system to permit new basement spaces immediately adjacent to, and 30 feet below, the existing foundations, and a subgrade multipurpose room, the roof of which supports a landscaped plaza over a 50-foot clear span.
The Frist Campus Center houses classrooms, a library, a performance hall, dining facilities, retail, and multi-purpose spaces.
An 85,000-sf addition and 100,000-sf building renovation combined to create a multi-purpose campus center for Princeton University.
The project to create the Frist Campus Center included adaptive reuse renovation of Palmer Hall, a three-story structure designed by H.J. Hardenbergh and built in 1908. Since no drawings for the building were available, engineers performed extensive field investigative work to document the structural system of flat terra cotta tile arches, steel beams, and brick masonry bearing walls. Using a variety of methods and equipment - including magnetic and impulse radar scanners - the building was surveyed and, as necessary, discretely probed. From the information in the survey, floor live load capacities were calculated, compared to current requirements, and the floors locally reinforced as necessary to accommodate new uses. Additional renovations included installation of a new elevator and mechanical systems, penetrations through bearing walls, and stabilization of foundations to enable the adjacent excavation.
The new five-level addition uses a composite cast-in-place/precast concrete frame designed to meet the requirements of Seismic Performance Category C. Significant features of the new addition include the installation of a ground stabilization system to permit new basement spaces immediately adjacent to, and 30 feet below, the existing foundations, and a subgrade multipurpose room, the roof of which supports a landscaped plaza over a 50-foot clear span.
The Frist Campus Center houses classrooms, a library, a performance hall, dining facilities, retail, and multi-purpose spaces.
CLIENT: Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc. (now VSBA, LLC)
LOCATION: Princeton, NJ
TYPE: Academic, Historic, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, Addition, Feasibility Study, Renovation, MATERIALS: Concrete, Masonry, Steel, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Completed project photography © Matt Wargo and VSBA
