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February 7, 2001: President's Page
One of the University’s
most valuable resources is the beauty of the campus landscape—the
plantings, the vistas, the open space and intimate courtyards, the
walkways that keep us connected. The University was fortunate in
the first half of the 20th century to have the assistance of a master
landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand, who served in that capacity
from 1912 until 1942. Her tenure coincided with the construction
of important collegiate gothic structures at Princeton and with
significant expansion of the campus. Thanks in good measure to her
skillful approach, new elements of the campus were successfully
connected to each other and to the historic, older parts of campus.
Her blend of intimate courtyards and open space, her choice of plantings
and thoughtful design, resulted in a campus of remarkable beauty.
The campus has remained
beautiful, but it has changed significantly. As we dug up the landscape
to make necessary infrastructure changes (for instance, to lay the
underground optical fiber backbone for new computer technologies),
added and subtracted buildings, and dramatically expanded the size
of the campus, the original beauty and strong lines of Farrand’s
plan have in some cases been diminished, compromised, or literally
overgrown. In the mid 1990s we launched
a new effort to maintain and enhance the beauty of the campus by
renovating McCosh Courtyard and the approach to Prospect House.
New plantings now mark the western entrance to the courtyard and
a well defined perimeter bordering the courtyard allows small service
vehicles access to the area but keeps it free from traffic. Brick
sidewalks were included within the drive leading to Prospect House,
preserving greenspace and improving the area for walking. The success
of these projects suggested some model approaches for campus landscaping
and strengthened our conviction that campus grounds deserved more
systematic, professional attention. As a result, we recently engaged
a landscape architectural firm, Quennell Rothschild & Partners,
Inc., to work with us to develop a comprehensive multi-year campus
master plan. The Trustee Committee on Grounds and Buildings has
enthusiastically supported these efforts and has approved increased
resources to realize our objectives. These objectives are ambitious
and presume an ongoing effort to restore the historic area around
Nassau Hall; to create a consistent approach for replacing and enhancing
plantings; to provide a more cohesive plan for accommodating new
buildings; to accommodate better events, including reunions, commencement,
and other heavily attended functions; and to improve the campus
wayfinding system. In addition, an important overall objective is
to “reclaim” the campus for pedestrian use, which will
depend, in part on restricting vehicular traffic so that the beauty
of our buildings and landscape is not compromised. The implementation of
our master plan begins with the historic northwest quadrant of campus,
centered on Nassau Hall, where it is possible to consult archival
photographs and records to determine the intention of Farrand’s
earlier plans, and where little if any new construction will occur
in the foreseeable future. You can see the result of our first efforts
in Hamilton Courtyard where shrubs and plantings have been pruned
or replaced, and a magnolia has been substituted for an overgrown
chestnut tree as a focal point. The project also encompasses refurbishment
of the walkways and of structural elements—the finials will
be returned to the porch railing that runs along the east side of
the courtyard. This summer’s projects include Nassau Hall.
We will fix drainage problems and carefully prune old trees and
add new ones to strengthen the architectural relationships with
Henry House and Maclean House. The walks will be paved with bluestone
defined by contrasting stone borders and the gravel areas around
Nassau Hall will be reduced significantly and replaced with grass. A major advantage of
having committed ourselves to an overall master plan is to assure
that plantings, walkways, and vehicular access are all a part of
the design of a new facility from the earliest design stages. Too
often in the past, these design elements have been left until the
end, added almost as an afterthought or neglected if project budgets
exceeded expectations. Yet it is clear that such considerations
can influence even the footprint of a building, and certainly are
an intrinsic part of the beauty and success of a facility. For this
reason, we are giving careful attention to the landscape in the
earliest design stages for the new home for the Integrative Genomics
Center and our new upperclass dormitory, both on the ellipse by
Scully Hall. The landscaping of the ellipse, as it opens out onto
Poe-Pardee playing fields, will be critical in establishing a welcoming
and visually pleasing southern “entrance” to campus. Circulation is an integral
element of the master plan, including the creation of clear pedestrian
access to our facilities. For example, we are extending historic
McCosh Walk across Washington Road toward the Engineering School.
As elsewhere on campus, plantings and paving material are essential
to creating a continuous thread linking the eastern and western
sectors of campus. But it is also clear that the University requires
better wayfinding systems, for members of the community as well
as for visitors. With new facilities soon to open and with existing
buildings lacking any exterior signage, a uniform, attractive and
informative permanent signage system is overdue. I believe that the master
plan will develop landscaping that lasts, is maintainable and affordable,
and enhances the experience of living, working or visiting the campus.
The landscape is similar to a work of art in the powerful responses
to beauty it is capable of eliciting from us, and the pleasure it
gives us, but it is also a living organism that requires our commitment
to nurturing care and attention.
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The
Beauty of the Campus
