Princeton University
Environmental Studies + School of Engineering and Applied Science (ES+SEAS)
LERA is the structural engineer for Princeton’s new home for Environmental Studies and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The 666,000-sf (61,873-sm) academic complex includes five buildings (ES, Commons, BioE, CBE and Theorist Pavilion), all connected underground in one continuous sequence, creating a new “ES+SEAS” neighborhood that is carefully integrated into the surrounding context, providing strong connections to nature and outdoor spaces. The project will advance the sustainability ethos of the University, and reflect the importance of environmental studies and engineering in a 21st-century liberal arts university. LERA is also providing engineering services for a utility tunnel under the BioE building as part of the site enabling work, and all of the site’s landscaping elements.
The structural design maximizes the use of mass-timber construction, and aims to minimize the embodied carbon in the project’s concrete structure by specifying carbon sequestration/CO2 injection and recycled Glass Ground Pozzolans as cement substitutions, using modest (rather than high-strength) concrete strengths, and by leaving large amounts of the concrete exposed to absorb CO2 during its life. Additional sustainable design features include green roofs, rooftop solar arrays, efficient MEP systems, stormwater collection and management, high performance curtain wall and optimized daylight.
Location
Princeton, NJ
Owner
Princeton University
Architect
Ennead Architects
*Renderings courtesy of Ennead.