Princeton University's new art museum has finally opened its doors, but the question on everyone's mind is: can it survive the scandal that dogged its creator, Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye? The 117,000-strong collection of art and antiquities, which was previously housed in a hodgepodge of extensions and additions, now shines in its own purpose-built castle. But the building's designer, who stepped down amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment, seems to have had no say in the final product.
The museum's director, James Steward, admits that they could not "tear the building down" during the design process. Instead, they handed over day-to-day coordination to Cooper Robertson, a specialist architect intimately involved with the project since its inception. The result is a place of rare substance and craft, standing at the historic center of Princeton's campus with a timeless air.
The building's design is a masterclass in spatial effects and sensuous material details, with terraces and ramps leading visitors into the museum on all four sides. The grand hall, a triple-height space with hefty concrete buttresses and wooden glulam beams, echoes Louis Kahn's Yale Center for British Art but has been beefed up to an imposing scale.
Each of the 32 galleries has a different hue, ranging from pale greens to deep blues, with some walls upholstered in richly patterned fabrics. The display cases are immaculate, and the study rooms and endless seating nooks built into the walls provide ample space for contemplation. The impressive quality of construction is the product of endless prototyping and material testing.
However, the question remains whether this success can be attributed solely to the collaborative efforts of lead architects, contractors, and a model client. David Adjaye's institutional work at scale has often been disappointing, with projects like his Idea Stores in London and National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC showing signs of haste.
The Princeton museum, on the other hand, seems to have avoided this pitfalls. As Steward says, "We want people to get productively lost," and the museum's design encourages visitors to do just that. The hope is that they will have accidental encounters on their way from A to B, and the temporary exhibition space, restaurant, and public areas are carefully positioned to facilitate these encounters.
In the end, it seems that the Princeton University Art Museum has survived a scandal and delivered a masterpiece of modern architecture. Whether this success can be replicated in future projects remains to be seen, but for now, this building stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and careful design.
The museum's director, James Steward, admits that they could not "tear the building down" during the design process. Instead, they handed over day-to-day coordination to Cooper Robertson, a specialist architect intimately involved with the project since its inception. The result is a place of rare substance and craft, standing at the historic center of Princeton's campus with a timeless air.
The building's design is a masterclass in spatial effects and sensuous material details, with terraces and ramps leading visitors into the museum on all four sides. The grand hall, a triple-height space with hefty concrete buttresses and wooden glulam beams, echoes Louis Kahn's Yale Center for British Art but has been beefed up to an imposing scale.
Each of the 32 galleries has a different hue, ranging from pale greens to deep blues, with some walls upholstered in richly patterned fabrics. The display cases are immaculate, and the study rooms and endless seating nooks built into the walls provide ample space for contemplation. The impressive quality of construction is the product of endless prototyping and material testing.
However, the question remains whether this success can be attributed solely to the collaborative efforts of lead architects, contractors, and a model client. David Adjaye's institutional work at scale has often been disappointing, with projects like his Idea Stores in London and National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC showing signs of haste.
The Princeton museum, on the other hand, seems to have avoided this pitfalls. As Steward says, "We want people to get productively lost," and the museum's design encourages visitors to do just that. The hope is that they will have accidental encounters on their way from A to B, and the temporary exhibition space, restaurant, and public areas are carefully positioned to facilitate these encounters.
In the end, it seems that the Princeton University Art Museum has survived a scandal and delivered a masterpiece of modern architecture. Whether this success can be replicated in future projects remains to be seen, but for now, this building stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and careful design.
I'm surprised anyone would even bring up David Adjaye's past scandals when it comes to his architectural work. Like, doesn't everyone have skeletons in their closet? 
Anyway, back to the museum - I think people are being way too harsh on Cooper Robertson. He was like, totally hands-on with the project since the beginning, so it's not like he wasn't involved enough. And let's be real, David Adjaye stepping down doesn't necessarily mean his design wasn't good to begin with. It's all about perspective, right? 
The Princeton museum is literally stunning - I love how they incorporated natural light and materials that feel super organic. If you haven't been yet, you totally need to add it to your bucket list! 
At the same time, though, we gotta admire how it turned out without Adjaye - maybe they just proved that a good idea can still stand behind a scandal 
.
And now we're having to pretend like he had nothing to do with the final design, just because there were some allegations against him. It feels like he's been written out of his own story. 
I mean, I've seen some of his other projects and they can be pretty meh, so it's not like this is a new development or anything... but still, it's weird that his track record isn't being scrutinized more closely. 
david adjaye may have been involved in some sketchy stuff, but like this build is straight FIRE 
from the terraces to the grand hall, its all perfection 
and the way it blends with the campus is pure magic 
i mean, who needs a say in the final product if you can just get something this amazing 
james stewarts vision for people to "get productively lost" has come true and im so here for it 
cant wait to visit this museum and just get lost in its beauty 
, all that natural light pouring in makes it feel like a work of art 
. but what's even more impressive is how the whole scandal thing didn't ruin everything 
, instead, the design team was able to work with the architect who stepped down (i hope he's doing ok) 
. and those display cases? 
so clean and minimalistic, it's like a breath of fresh air 
. can't wait to visit and get lost in all the art and history 