Institue In Princeton Aims To Expand Library Designed By Wallace Harrison

PRINCETON, NJ — The Institute for Advance Study has filed an application for preliminary and final major site development approval to add a second floor and other space to the library designed by famed architect Wallace K Harrison.

Harrison is famous for his work on high-profile projects like the Metropolitan Opera House at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Rockefeller Center, and the United Nations headquarters among other public projects.

The Institute proposes to add a second story of about 17,716 square feet over the existing g Historical Studies-Social Studies Library. This will replace and expand the previously approved project.

Additionally, a 5,039 square foot addition is proposed on the first floor and a 497 sq. ft. addition is proposed on the basement level.

According to the applicant the expansion is designed to help preserve the existing structure while mitigating water leaks in the building.

“These leaks are the result of an inadequate and poorly designed concrete vaulted roof and paver system around the building and are becoming more emergent as rainstorms become more frequent and intense,” according to the applicant.

The library was built in the 1960s.

“The site slopes from the north to the south by about 10 feet and the building is integrated within that slope. It appears to be one story at the northern end and two stories at the southern end if viewed with the pond at your back,” Planning Director Justin Lesko said in a memo.

The additions include library space, offices, meeting rooms and collaborative spaces and “will be used to relocate scholars and staff that have been sharing offices or occupying temporary modular office space.”

According to the Institute, Harrison accepted the proposal to design the library at the invitation of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Construction took three years and was completed in 1965, it was dedicated on April 24, 1965.

The library's most distinctive feature is the roof, "where Harrison experimented with combining structure, skylighting, air conditioning, and artificial lighting in a single overhead system that serves the entire building," the Institute website says.

The Planning Board is expected to hear the application on Thursday.