Princeton University
Whig Hall Princeton, NJ At the heart of Princeton’s campus lies Canon Green, bounded on the south by a pair of identical neoclassical structures built to house the University’s two debating societies, Whig and Clio. When all but the exterior wall of Whig was destroyed by fire, the University took the rebuilding program as an opportunity to strengthen ties of its formal center to current student use. Continue BackIn its rebuilding program were facilities not only for the debating society but also for activities more central to a broader spectrum of students, most importantly the office of the student president, a large meeting room, an information center, a lounge, and conference, seminar and work rooms. Some 10,000 square feet of the program were to be built into a structure that had previously held 7,000 square feet.
Further, new construction had to be built to current building—particularly fireproofing—codes and be fitted with a modern air conditioning system. The new facility is structurally and aesthetically independent from the shell of the original building within which it sits. To avoid overburdening old walls and foundations, new full height columns were lowered on to newly created foundations within the old building’s perimeter. By removing the east wall, the structure and the activity held within are visible to students along the busy cross campus path to the east.
