All About Architecture
To understand the story behind the additions and renovations at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, imagine yourself in the following position: you are an architect and your new clients are architects and the building you are designing will be used by people studying, exploring-and critiquing-architecture.
The Hillier Group, an architecture firm headquartered in Princeton, N.J., accepted the challenge to work on NJIT-the nation’s fifth largest architecture school-taking in stride the assignment to renovate the 77,000-square-foot Weston Hall and expand it by 33,000 square feet.
Arvind Tikku, project manager/project architect who worked with lead architect Alan Chimacoff, appreciated the collaboration between Hillier, the architecture school’s approximately 10-member building committee, and Nat Shah, project executive from Turner Construction of Somerset, N.J.
And, while the school of architecture’s new location in Weston Hall was the school’s principal project, construction plans also called for the renovation of Colton Hall which would be used by the School of Civil Engineering and of Campbell Hall which would house the Division of Student Services. Combined, the projects totaled $26 million.
New Jersey Institute of Technology
The New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university founded in 1919 as an engineering school. The school now occupies 45 acres in the University Heights section of Newark and has approximately 8,200 students enrolled in one of 76 programs. Two of those programs-the School of Architecture and School of Civil Engineering-moved into new homes as a result of the school’s recent renovation program.
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PROJECT DATA Construction Materials: Furniture: Flooring: Lighting: Security/Fire Safety: |
As with any university, as an institution grows-both in size and sophistication-it’s discovered the original buildings are unable to accommodate current programs because they are either too small, too outdated, or both. NJIT prides itself on being ranked by Yahoo! Internet Life as the most wired public university and was determined that its buildings never be outdated; the school of architecture itself is one of the nation’s leaders in computer-aided design and graphics. It also was important to the university that its programs not only have updated spaces, but enough space and therefore NJIT wanted each to have its own building. These ideas resulted in the construction and renovation of several buildings, of which the School of Architecture is the crown jewel, according to the university.
The school of architecture had been occupying Colton Hall and the new plans called for the program to move into the much larger Weston Hall. Since the architecture program also was the largest of the schools to be relocated, it was determined that its new home would be the team’s first project and the one accounting for $16 million of the construction budget.
Colton Hall, a 40,000-square-foot, four-story building dating back to the 19th century-one of the oldest buildings on campus-would be gutted and renovated for use by the School of Civil Engineering after being vacated by the School of Architecture. Following work on Colton Hall, the 16,000-square-foot Campbell Hall was renovated for use by the Division of Student Services. The building also received a 26,000-square-foot addition, or annex. As for the design, “these were utilitarian buildings and we wanted to retain their utilitarian grandeur,” says Tikku of plans for Colton and Campbell.
In an unusual twist on the school’s “one program in one building” plan, architecture and civil engineering each occupy space in the Campbell Hall annex. However, the arrangement fits the school’s plan because each program only connects with its specific space within Campbell-none of the programs intermingle or have access to one another, and aside from emergency staircases, the floors do not connect.
Weston Hall-The School of Architecture
It turns out that working with and for NJIT’s architects was a productive, collaborative effort. When conceptualizing plans for the School of Architecture, “we wanted the building to serve as part of the teaching tool. We thought ‘how can we bring this building to life for the students,'” explains Tikku. And the building they wanted to “bring to life” was an outdated, 1958 structure that lacked virtually any architectural interest. “It had outlived its usefulness,” Tikku says of the seven-story Weston Hall, and only was saved from demolition because of the 77,000 square feet it offered.
Additionally, plans had to satisfy the school’s requirements for spaces that promoted interaction; incorporated technology; and included open studios, lots of light, and lots of glass. “They wanted to show everyone what’s being done [in the building], allow people to see them while they’re working,” says Tikku in explaining the school’s request for glazing that makes portions of the building seem transparent. And it was this idea of revealing function and activity that led to the final design idea; exposing the guts of the building-everything from structural columns to ductwork-so students can see what goes into a building. The building’s design isn’t so much a statement as it is an explanation.
The theme of exposure also was the perfect solution for integrating the new 33,000-square-foot studio addition, referred to as the “Lantern” because it is so light, glassy, and transparent. This slender strip of building, also seven stories high, extends the building southward to the corners of the property, occupying land previously used as a parking lot. Inside, the addition enjoys an amazing sense of open studio space that contrasts with old Weston Hall that, while renovated, still retains it lower ceilings and elements of the closed studio style.
Weston Hall’s new campus entrance is located on the building’s west side, at the seam where the old is fused with the new. The land at the back of the building slopes somewhat dramatically so access to the building is provided by an elongated ramp approximately 120 feet long. The ramp, while ADA-compliant, is more a symbolic gesture, according to Tikku, because it reaches out to the campus, rises to the building’s second floor, and opens into a soaring atrium. “The atrium is a cross section of the entire building,” says Tikku, “and makes the building intuitive.” From this space, navigating the facility seems easy because the gallery, studios, library, teaching spaces, and administrative offices are visible as soon as the building is entered. A central staircase serves not only as a transition space, but also as the major unifying force between old Weston Hall and its addition. The “kinetic” staircase juts in and out of different planes and parts of it are painted green, red, and orange. “The color livens up the transition space,” says Tikku, “and is meant to elicit comment.”
The building’s façade, which faces east toward the cities of Newark and New York City, also is a combination of old and new. Tikku thought the suggestion to keep some of the remnants of the existing building was a “fair compromise,” so the solution was to “weave the old with the new, using glass and horizontal lines on both buildings,” he says. Recladding the older portion of Weston Hall with the same brick used on the addition unifies the building. From the outside, “no one can tell the old building from the new building,” states project executive Nat Shah of Turner Construction.
The building’s openness and exposure presented Shah and his team with a few challenges. “With all of the exposed ductwork and materials, we had to make it all look like furniture,” he says. “And when you don’t have a ceiling, noise becomes a problem, you need special insulation, fireproofing, and special lighting.”
Shah also mentions one particularly interesting element-a gallery in the addition that was designed to exemplify the idea of openness and exposure and be devoid of structural columns. To construct such a space, the gallery is actually hung from steel trusses; the crisscrossing trusses are visible through the building’s sixth floor windows.
The Finished Work
All three buildings, now complete and occupied, were delivered on time and within budget. The school is extremely pleased with the projects, stating how remarkable it was that the team was able to so closely interpret their needs and deliver such important projects. Tikku has equal praise for the team and is emphatic about singling out team members not quoted in this article, including Hillier architects Wei Chi Chen and Peter Hoggan and from NJIT, Joseph Tartaglia and Henry Mauermeyer. Tikku also quotes Dean Gauchat, the dean of the School of Architecture, as telling him “if I had to rebuild this building, I wouldn’t do anything differently.”
Well, there is one thing the school wants to change about Weston Hall-its name. The School of Architecture is looking for a benefactor whose name would then be given to the building.