After nearly a century without major renovations, the building housing offices and library stacks for the Institute for Advanced Study — the independent post-doctoral research center in Princeton, N.J. where Albert Einstein famously spent his late career — has undergone a partial interior redesign led by JZA+D.
The Georgian-style Fuld Hall may be the most iconic academic building in the country not associated with a university. Aware of the importance of the Institute's legacy, JZA+D approached with reverence the project to realign and update 2000 square feet of the interior --but also with a mission: to provide a template for the complete interior renovation to come later.
“Given the evolution of scientific pursuit, the spaces within buildings like this one need retrofits to suit changing needs and to support the expansion of digital resources,” says Mark A. Sullivan, AIA, LEED AP, architect and partner with JZA+D. He adds that most resources have been transferred to digital media and archived electronically, meaning that periodical rooms and library stacks are no longer the best use of space, and new Member offices are needed far more. (At the Institute “Members” are invited to work and study for a set term, as opposed to “Faculty” who enjoy permanent positions and even retain their office spaces after retirement.)
The project team tore out the entire periodical room and punched new door openings from the hall to create space for three new member offices. Additionally, the design has replaced a mid-20th-Century library stack with four more member offices, and one new faculty office. Intriguingly, old architectural drawings indicate this latter area may have included Einstein’s own faculty office, before it was converted to stacks in 1984.JZA+D’s scope for the project also included renovating the librarian and assistant librarian offices, as well as a tiny but highly important 160-square-foot "secure stack,” which houses the Institute's most important and fragile volumes.As an ode to the building’s history, original millwork and shelving salvaged from the periodical room has been reinstalled in the secure stack area.
The palette of durable finishes and furnishings for the updated interiors includes carpet tile for most floors, new LED lamps and fixtures, and updated drop ceiling systems to replace old sheet rock. Bearing in mind that the project would be a trial run for a future full renovation of Fuld Hall, the palette of materials and finishes is specified to be easily replicated in the
