Friend Center for Engineering Education, Princeton University

Situated across the street from the existing Engineering Quadrangle, the four-story facility connects at ground and lower levels with an existing computer science building on the north and projects west to house the engineering library in an independent two-story volume. Learning spaces throughout the center offer an array of formal and informal classroom configurations. The facility also includes a state-of-the-art computer atelier, a 250-seat lecture hall, and offices and classrooms for the engineering department.

A new campus green weaves the Friend Center into its setting, with circulation paths converging at the main entrance. Flowering plants and bosques of trees create a colorful buffer to the adjacent residential neighborhood.

The Friend Center’s limestone base matches that of the neighboring computer science building and complements the one-story context. The library above is clad in low-E clear insulating glass, with customized horizontal wood blinds that control natural lighting by day and activate the surroundings with a soft glow at night.

Study carrels, reading rooms, and smaller classrooms are located within the library’s glass-enclosed upper levels to meet the needs of small group seminars, study group sessions, and individual research.