Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), the architectural firm tasked with planning a campus "arts neighborhood," told the University that it has insufficient time to spend on the project and has been allowed to withdraw from its obligations, the University announced Friday."We respect the decision by RPBW ... and we are hopeful that they may reengage when we are ready to begin designing buildings for the site," University Executive Vice President Mark Burstein said in the statement."They have been exceedingly helpful in shaping our initial thinking about the arts neighborhood, and we are very grateful for the creativity and insight they have brought to the project."The Paris-based firm, named for founder Renzo Piano, had been working on a site plan that would fit performance venues, galleries, classrooms, parking lots and shops onto University-owned land south of McCarter Theatre."Despite its enormous international distinction, RPBW remains a relatively small firm, and Renzo Piano himself takes a personal interest in every project," Burstein said.Among Piano's direct contributions to the plan is a "piazza" intended to evoke the bustling public squares of his native Italy, University Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee '69 said in an interview earlier this fall.The entire arts complex will have a total area of about 250,000 square feet and cost more than $300 million, Durkee said.The University said that Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB), the firm in charge of drawing up a 10-year master plan for campus expansion, will continue design work on the arts neighborhood."BBB has been fully engaged in planning for the arts neighborhood from the beginning, and we will be in very good hands as they now take on sole responsibility for managing the project," Burstein said.It was not immediately clear whether the withdrawal of RPBW would delay the rezoning and site plan approval necessary before construction can begin.Preliminary plans released in September called for moving the Dinky Station several hundred feet south along existing track, straightening and extending University Place and relocating the Wawa convenience store."We look forward to building on the work that already has been done and to conversations about this project that we will be having with our trustees and with the community over the coming months," Burstein said."Because of where it is and what it is aiming to accomplish, this is a high-priority project for the University and for the community"
