Whitman Residential College Project Recognized for Excellence
Princeton's Whitman residential college has been recognized by two building trades organizations for its craftsmanship and excellence.
The International Masonry Institute selected Whitman to receive a 2009 New Jersey Golden Trowel Award and a "Significant Project Achievement Award" has been presented to the construction team.
The Whitman project was also selected by the General Building Contractors Association of Philadelphia as the first place winner in its annual Construction Excellence awards in the "Excellence in Craftsmanship" category.
The opening of Whitman residential college in September 2007 marked the completion of the Princeton University's sixth residential college and the launch of Princeton's four-year residential college system. Begun in 2004, more than 6000 tons of fieldstone (sometimes called bluestone) and limestone from quarries in New York, Pennsylvania, and Indiana went into its construction. The collection of 10 buildings house over 500 students in 280,000 gross square feet.
The construction team included Porphyrios Associates (Demetri Porphyrios is a Princeton Graduate School alumnus), design architect; Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, executive architect and engineers; Torcon Inc., general contractor; Quennell Rothschild & Partners, LLP and Michael Van Valkenburgh, landscape architects; Sheila Bridges Design, dining and lounges interior designer; Davis Crossfield Associates, theater designer; and Acentech, A/V consultant.
"We took extraordinary care to ensure the quality of the stonework in the Whitman project and it shows in the result," said Project Director John Ziegler. (Ziegler is currently the Director of Off-Campus Development.) "Some years ago, there were people who said that the Collegiate Gothic style couldn't be done with current materials and modern labor. I believe we proved that wrong. Most of the masons came from the tri-state area, with a few outside that range. In spite of all the challenges on that project, the masons really put their heart and soul into their work and it all came together. It was worth it."
