The new Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) will house 32 galleries, a two-story conservation studio, and an 80,000 square-foot education center — all housed in a hulking aggregate stone exterior.
Ahead of PUAM’s opening in October, The Daily Princetonian received an exterior tour of the building from Chris Newth, Senior Associate Director for Collections and Exhibitions. The tour included an overview of the museum’s architectural design and interior features.
The exterior design of the new art museum, however, has garnered some controversy among members of the campus community.
“There’s going to be a range of comments on the architecture; some people love it, some people won’t. That’s true with anything,” Newth explained. “That echoes the experiences people are going to have with the arts. Not everybody loves every piece of art that’s in the museum.”
“The style of architecture itself is very different to what we’re used to seeing on campus,” said architecture student Kayleen Gowers ’25 in an interview with the ‘Prince.’ “It’s an exciting way for students to see how contemporary architecture can fit into the more historic style of campus,” she added.
At a luncheon on Alumni Day, PUAM Director James Steward ’76 described the building as made of fundamentally classic materials: “cast in-place concrete … as well as steel, bronze, glass, and a pioneering use of heavy timber.”
Exterior of one of the Princeton University Art Museum pavilions
MC McCoy / The Daily Princetonian
The renovated museum, whose size was restricted on the east side by a dawn redwood tree and on the west by the path behind Dod Hall leading up towards Nassau Hall, is split into nine sections, referred to as “pavilions.”
The central north pavilion is home to Marquand Library of Art and Archaeology. During PUAM’s construction, its collections have been temporarily relocated to the C-floor of Firestone Library but will be returned to the building following its completion in the coming months.
According to Newth, the central south pavilion will house a two-floor conservation studio, an area which “combines science and research and activity.” Notably, this is the only section of the building without a flat roof. Because it is on the south side of the building, and natural northern sunlight is ideal for conservation, the designers “developed this skylight that actually takes the northern light and bounces it down,” Newth explained.
The themes of the remaining seven pavilions have not yet been announced, although Newth confirmed that the northwest pavilion will be primarily European art.
“That doesn’t mean there’s just European art in there, because we don’t believe in presenting art that way,” Newth explained. “While this will primarily be European art, there are other cultures and multiple time periods in there to make sure we’re trying to present the full picture with the collections we have.”
PUAM spokesperson Morgan Gengo wrote in a statement to the ‘Prince’ that “information about the organizing principles of each area of the building, including the pavilions, will be forthcoming.”
The museum will feature 32 galleries, all but one of which will be spread on the same level throughout the second floor of the building. Newth explained that, in the early 20th century, “it was very common for museums to put their best things on the main level, and then having additional objects below.”
“All our collections will all be on the same floor, so it will be hard for somebody to argue that we put any collection lower than another,” Newth explained.
“One of our biggest objectives in [the PUAM project] was to break down the traditional hierarchies of display that have dominated in most art museums around the world,” Steward said.
The last of the 32 galleries is located in the building’s northwest corner on the first floor. Its exterior-facing windows are boarded up at time of publication — however, Newth described that this gallery may be thought of as “a project space” for year-long exhibitions.
Due to the large windows opening into the room, only certain pieces of art can be exhibited there, Newth said. “I’m excited that people can see in and out [of the gallery].”
Newth noted that the second floor would house three viewing rooms, each of which will have only a few objects in it.
“We all understand that sometimes museum-goers need a rest … or they need a space where they can actually just get immersed with an individual object,” he said of the viewing rooms.
Newth added that three of the 31 galleries on the second floor would be temporary exhibition spaces. “We want to keep it vibrant for all the students and non-students, [but] we also don’t want to have [the exhibits] up for such a short period of time that you can’t get to them,” he told the ‘Prince’ during the tour.
An additional temporary exhibition space is Art@Bainbridge, which will remain open even after PUAM opens in October.
Four percent of Princeton’s collections will be on show in PUAM at any time, equivalent to around 4,700 articles from the collections. The old art museum had around half of this volume visible at any time.
The final 28 galleries will house the collections, which will also be rotated regularly. Newth explained that certain materials need to have restricted access to light, but noted that rotation of collections might be due to other reasons.
“We might get new acquisitions, or there might be a course that needs something [from the collections],” he described.
East Side of the Princeton University Art Museum
MC McCoy / The Daily Princetonian
The education center is made up of two art studios, two seminar rooms, an auditorium, and five object study rooms, totalling 80,000 square-feet of the building. The studios, called ‘creativity labs,’ are visible from the east side of the building, and are where the “art making process can happen,” Newth said. These spaces will be available for drop-in or through PUAM’s programming.
“Somebody can come in and have an experience with art that’s not the collection art; it’s making art,” said Newth.
The five object study rooms in the education center will allow students to interact directly with pieces in the collection. Object study rooms are “where classes with art on the table will be held, and we had about 200 classes a semester in our object study rooms when we were open previously,” described Newth.
Leela DuBois ’26, an Art and Archaeology student, said that her experience with art history classes has been different with the art museum under construction. In a semester-long assignment, DuBois described going through the museum collection catalog online to complete her project. “Often we weren’t able to see those pieces in person,” she said in an interview with the ‘Prince.’
“It’s a very different experience when you can grasp the size and scope of a piece and how it looks in a three-dimensional space versus on a screen,” said DuBois.
The new museum has been conceived as a way of connecting the University and the broader community. The new building, for instance, will feature four entrances that are lined up so students and community members can walk through the museum to cross campus. The corridors, referred to as ‘Art Walks,’ form a cross through the building and will be lined with art for those who are simply walking through. “We wanted a location where people could really experience art in their daily life,” said Newth. “We want people to live with art.”
Newth emphasized the proximity of a museum on campus and its convenience. “Somebody can go to New York — that’s great, there are great museums there — but they don’t have to. They can come right here and they can do it at the last minute.”
Kelly Park ’25, the president of the PUAM Student Advisory Board, agreed. “Very soon, students won’t have to wander far to immerse themselves in such an extensive art collection,” she said.
PUAM has sparked several controversies since the beginning of its renovation. The building was designed by Adjaye Associates, an architecture firm headed by David Adjaye, a renowned Ghanaian-British architect who was accused of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and fostering a toxic workplace in 2023. Additionally, the style of the building has sparked much debate among students.
In an interview with the ‘Prince’ in November, University architect Ron McCoy GS ’80 advised students to “stand back and put a layer of campus between yourself and the museum.”
“When you look from, say, in front of Witherspoon, down the diagonal, you see the echelon of the different pavilions linking to Brown Hall,” McCoy said. “If you look at the base of Brown Hall, you see that the gray granite of Brown Hall is picked up by the precast concrete [of PUAM].”
“I think it’s hard to appreciate it if you don’t have more [of an] architecture background,” Gowers said. “I do think they could have done the same design, the same grid, but with less concrete.”
The PUAM is set to open in October 2025, with the exact date to be announced in late March.
Victoria Davies is a head News editor for the ‘Prince.’ She is from Plymouth, England and typically covers University operations.
Cynthia Torres is an assistant News editor and an Archives contributor. She is from New Bedford, MA and typically covers University administration.
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
