Princeton’s Yeh and New College West residential colleges have received a 2023 New York AIA award. The architect was Deborah Berke Partners. The landscape architect was James Corner Field Operations.
“It is rewarding to see the architectural excellence of this project recognized by a national jury of experts,” said Ron McCoy, University architect. “The colleges beautifully express our intent to create an open, transparent and welcoming community for living, learning, socializing and dining.
"The architecture is organized as a small village, full of variety and richness of experience," McCoy said. "The buildings combine the vibrancy of contemporary design with a wonderful sensitivity to the campus traditions of scale, material, craft and campus making.”
Completed in 2022, Yeh College and New College West each serve 510 students. The University’s residential colleges are living, learning communities that provide students not simply with housing and dining options, but advising and other resources as well.
In a statement by the architectural firm describing their vision for the project, Deborah Berke Partners wrote: “With gestures both subtle and overt, the colleges are designed for a cohesive community organized around the many spheres of undergraduate life. The student experience has been a point of critical focus for Princeton and our design team. Our design aims to create places where the students can feel at home on campus.”
AIA New York’s annual Design Awards program recognizes outstanding architectural design by AIA New York members, New York City-based architects in any location, and work in New York City by architects around the globe. The purpose of the awards program is to honor the architects, clients and consultants who work together to achieve design excellence.
Princeton's residential colleges are living-learning communities that, in addition to housing and dining, serve students through academic advising, peer mentorship, health and wellness resources, as well as other academic and co-curricular programs.
