Bringing new perspectives to campus treasures

By Neil Mills on Feb. 13, 2012, noon

A stroll across Princeton University's campus reveals many treasures to be enjoyed by the attentive observer -- ornate archways, official seals, whimsical gargoyles, flowing epigraphy, and sculpture of all sizes and materials. Together, these create a place of beauty with numerous clues to a unique history. The meticulous details upon the walls of buildings are a monument to the fond dreams of architects and campus planners. Princeton's campus treasures are a rich blend of the old, the new, and the renewed, and like great thoughts, they weather time.

A stroll across Princeton University's campus reveals many treasures to be enjoyed by the attentive observer — ornate archways, official seals, whimsical gargoyles, flowing epigraphy, and sculpture of all sizes and materials. Together, these create a place of beauty with numerous clues to a unique history. The meticulous details upon the walls of buildings are a monument to the fond dreams of architects and campus planners. Princeton's campus treasures are a rich blend of the old, the new and the renewed, and like great thoughts, they weather time.

Video feature: 'Finding the Enduring Shield of Princeton' .

The Princeton University shield has a widespread presence throughout the campus. With a keen eye, one can catch a glimpse of this icon in campus architecture — from interiors to facades — and it also adorns sport venues, commercial items, publications and more. Whether small or large, sculptural, carved, or printed in ink, the University shield serves as an emblem of Princeton's rich traditions.

Video feature: 'Princeton: Ivy and Espalier' .

Princeton's campus, when studied carefully, reveals the meticulous and expert care that the landscaping receives. Indeed, the mature plantings are the product of creative minds, past and present, and countless hours of labor.

Princeton's Whitman College marks revival of traditional architecture .

Whitman College architect Demetri Porphyrios describes the residential college he designed for Princeton University in terms of music. The Collegiate Gothic buildings rise in individual gestures of counterpoint that come together in a single composition.

Stewarding a precious resource: Hlafter spends 40 years making connections on the campus .

After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture from Princeton, Jon Hlafter was completing an internship at a firm in Boston. A friend recommended him for an opening in the University's campus planning office. "I decided to come down and interview for what I thought was going to be about a five-year commitment to help plan for coeducation," Hlafter said. He joined the staff in 1968, was named director of physical planning in 1969 and became University architect in 2004.

Rock stars: Exploring the ruins and royalty of ancient Maya courts .

This spring, 11 Princeton undergraduate students in the course "The Arts and Politics of Ancient Maya Courts" traveled to Chiapas, Mexico, over spring break to directly engage with architectural spaces and largely untouched ruins.

The Renaissance comes to you: Teaching art history while the Princeton University Art Museum is under construction .

We drop in on the fall course 'Renaissance Art and Architecture' and see how the Princeton University Art Museum's world-class collections are being used for teaching while the museum's new building is under construction.