Campus core is an essential element in a university’s physical environment for symbolic importance of high educational philosophy as well as hierarchical significance of campus structure. Yet, as modern expansion develops into and out of campus core...
Campus core is an essential element in a university’s physical environment for symbolic importance of high educational philosophy as well as hierarchical significance of campus structure. Yet, as modern expansion develops into and out of campus core, a challenging design and planning problem for a growing university is how to integrate a new development into the existing core structure and how to expand the fastgrowing development beyond the core while maintaining a symbiotic harmony between the campus core and the modern expansion.
Such challenge addresses four design frameworks for symbiotic development of the campus core and the modern expansion: (1) building grouping with territorial proximity; (2) building design rules for form and texture; (3) open space network with pedestrian walkway; (4) useprogramming for on-campus student community.
This study aims to explore these issues with in-depth case study of the Princeton University campus in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States. The study concludes that the Princeton campus is a result from successful synthesis of all the complex design elements, especially in relationship between the old and the new; and adds further that the development of a modern university campus requires a comprehensive plan that takes into account the older buildings when conceiving the new in symbiotic relationship along with open space network as well as functional program distribution.