Advisory board supports three-story, glass-walled PU building

Operations Research and Financial Engineering building would be built on parking lot near Mudd Library

By: Hilary Parker
   The Site Plan Review Advisory Board on Monday unanimously agreed to recommend the approval of Princeton University’s proposed Operations Research and Financial Engineering building by the Regional Planning Board of Princeton.
   The recommendation was granted at a special meeting of the committee, after the university’s original presentation Sept. 13 was cut short due to time constraints.
   The three-story, 46,700-square-foot building is proposed for the site of the university’s current Parking Lot 33 on Charlton Street. It will be located adjacent to the Seeley G. Mudd Library and an existing electrical substation.
   The building will feature walls constructed of alternating panels of clear, translucent and opaque glass. University architect Jon Hlafter said the facades will be reminiscent of those on the nearby Friend Center for Engineering Education and serve to reflect the buildings, trees and environment around the facility, lending a somewhat "mysterious quality."
   Though the building is similar in height to the nearby Friend Center and Wallace Hall, it is subject to a recently strengthened Princeton Borough ordinance limiting building height — enacted to limit the size of future McMansions. Given this, the construction will require height variance relief. According to Princeton Borough Zoning Officer Frank Slimak’s memorandum to the board, this variance is "minor" and would have "limited impact on adjacent properties."
   The building’s main access will be by way of Shapiro Walk, a pedestrian pathway south of the Friend Center that connects Charlton and Olden streets.
   Given the academic connection of the ORFE department to Princeton’s Bendheim Center for Finance, located in nearby Dial Lodge, advisory board Chairman William Wolfe and Mr. Hlafter agreed it is likely students will cut across a courtyard between the two buildings. While Mr. Wolfe recommended the university consider the installation of a pathway for use when the new building opens, Mr. Hlafter said university planners would prefer to observe how the students move between the buildings and then pave the walkway they create.
   Since the new building will take the place of an existing 34-space parking lot, university representatives said they intend to reassign those who currently park in Lot 33 to Lot 21, located off Faculty Road in the vicinity of Jadwin gym. The university’s existing blue and green shuttle service lines have stops located at Lot 21, as well as Olden and William streets.
   The proposal includes a new courtyard between the new building and the substation. Akin to a Japanese garden in design and appearance, the courtyard is meant to provide a nice view in lieu of the substation, Mr. Hlafter said, not a space to enter. Since the courtyard is not intended for public use, board members asked why a proposed brick wall around part of the courtyard is not planned to bound the space entirely. Mr. Hlafter replied that the building’s architect did not want to "box the building in."
   In recommending approval of the plan, the board included a few considerations for the university to address prior to an appearance before the Planning Board. Board member Anne Neumann, a representative of the Princeton Environmental Commission, strongly recommended a "green roof" and pushed for the university to comply with certification requirements for high levels of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.
   Princeton’s Vice President for Facilities Michael McKay said the university doesn’t apply for LEED certification, given the cost of the certification process, but does evaluate its buildings under the ranking system. He and Mr. Hlafter said inclusion of a "green roof" would add only one additional LEED point, and much research is necessary to determine the economic feasibility and the environmental effectiveness of such a roof on the building.
   Mr. Wolfe also recommended that increased insulation be provided on the opaque sections of the glass walls to increase energy efficiency.
   Because the development will necessitate the removal of 19 trees — eight with a diameter of 8 inches or more — Borough Engineer Carl Peters said the Borough Shade Tree Commission, as required by the borough’s tree-removal ordinance, should provide a report.