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E-PrinceFor years the boxy brown brick buildings of Butler were the butt of many a campus joke, and Butlerites bonded over the waffle ceilings and buildings that many considered to be the blight of campus.
Now, two years after industrial ...
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Are there no student opinions on New Butler yet or was it easier for you just to write things everyone already knows?
Oh my god, it's every bit as ugly and faddish as the original Butler buildings were. These eyesores will be out of fashion in a decade and we'll have to demolish them again.
The prince should write a piece comparing the new butler college to butler apartments....that would be a fun comparison!
Though the old on-campus Butler was demolished basically for being ugly, the off-campus graduate housing complex Butler Apartments remains, despite being temporary barracks, most of which date from 1947 and have limited insulation. And, though I know it grows on some people, it's also ugly.
It is amazing to me that an institution with the resources of Princeton spends them without listening to and hearing the cry of the students who will live there: THEY WANT THE TRADITIONAL GOTHIC BUILDINGS!!! Did you ask the students, or just the University's own professors of architecture who, obviously, want to promote their own modern views. I imagine the response from many applicants to Princeton when asked about Princeton's appeal is often includes the attractiveness of its campus. Do you think they meant Butler?
"THEY WANT THE TRADITIONAL GOTHIC BUILDINGS!!!"
DO YOU REALLY THINK THE UNIVERSITY DOES NOT KNOW THAT???
Seriously, Princeton has fabulous historic and contemporary architecture. I agree with the poster who called New Butler "faddish" but I would hate having a second Whitman. Also, did you consider the possibility that what the students like about "the traditional Gothic buildings" may not be replicable?
P'11, I think they just wanted to complete the red-brick area of campus - like connect Wu/Wilcox to Bloomberg.
THEY WANT THE TRADITIONAL GOTHIC BUILDINGS!!!
Yeah, well, some grad students would like insulated buildings that don't require space heaters in every room, but that doesn't seem to be on the top of the priorities list.
Wow, Princeton. After seeing Whitman turn out as nice as it did, I though you guys knew how to preserve the nice Gothic style many of the ivies are famous for. Boy was I wrong!! What an ugly building. Why is it that everything labeled "environmentally friendly" always turns out butt ugly? Same goes with Dartmouth's new buildings.
Actually, I don't mind the aesthetics of New Butler and the rooms seem quite nice. This might change in 40 or even fewer years, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for Princeton's brick style towards understated elegance. I somewhat prefer the details on Bloomberg, but it's much better than Wu/Fisher, and especially Wilcox and the Wilson Old New Quad aesthetically.
The major problems seem to be poorly chosen common areas and those odd outdoor "death pits" that I can't imagine ever being used. Since the elevation was improper for something like the Whitman style dining hall entrance, the architect probably thought he was clever in creating space, but it is unnatural to go down stairs to reach a gathering place. The auditorium is also somewhat unfortunate and should have been a somewhat more traditional quad with a little bit of landscaping.
The windows might be questionable, but I can't see them looking as odd and out of place as 1927/Clapp (which is otherwise a fine dormitory).
The lesson for future Princeton architects ought to be restraint in following contemporary architecture without resorting to the worst of Princeton, the brick jail house that is Gauss Hall. Also, please stop following the Neo-Gothic University cliche.