Princeton University: Two New Residential Colleges

The new award-winning residential colleges at Princeton University, totalling 485,000 sq. ft., were completed in 2022 with the aim of invigorating campus life while expanding enrollment. The residential college system is designed to provide not just housing and meal options, but individualized support and guidance for students, who may potentially live in the same college for their entire degree.

The ground floors of the award-winning adjacent ‘Yeh’ and ‘New College West’ buildings feature welcoming glass-enclosed areas which include dining halls, seminar rooms, a performance space and a ceramics studio. Through Unicel Architectural’s innovative technology, this use of glass engages those walking by on the connected campus walkway system with activities inside, while also connecting those inside with the landscape and the energizing ongoing movement of campus life.

These stunning areas were constructed using Unicel Architectural’s THERM+ H-I 56 Timber Curtain Wall on 80mm white oak glulam with double thermo glazing. The unique combination of elegant wood with extensive glass in the Timber Curtain Wall provides many benefits. Chief among them is that both the academic and leisure activities of students is bathed in effusive natural light. The warmth of the white oak wood also unites those inside with the natural world outside, fostering a sense of wellbeing and grounding amidst a demanding study schedule.

Unicel Architectural’s Timber Curtain Walls seamlessly combine timber of your choice, steel, aluminum and glass in a customized format for a variety of vertical facades or sloped glass roofs. They can accommodate insulating glass units and feature efficient thermal insulation with Um,t = 0.80 W/(m²K) (0.14 Btu/hr-sq ft °F).

Other efficiency features of Princeton’s new colleges include geoexchange heating and cooling, ‘green’ roofs and stormwater management, and low-flow plumbing. In contrast to the design of Princeton’s existing residential colleges, Yeh and New College West represent a significant shift going forward. Features such as the extensive glazing at the ground level provided by Timber Curtain Walls maximize individual student connection to campus life and to the outdoor landscape, supporting many more generations of creativity and innovation at this historic institution.