Rutgers Continues the Discussion of Ideas as Design Teams Present Concepts for Historic College Avenue Campus

Oct. 26, 2006

RUTGERS CONTINUES THE DISCUSSION OF IDEAS

AS DESIGN TEAMS PRESENT CONCEPTS

FOR HISTORIC COLLEGE AVENUE CAMPUS

-->

The public is invited to hear representatives of the five internationally renowned design teams describe their proposals and explain the processes and principles behind their concepts Monday, Oct. 30, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Rutgers Student Center. Following the presentations, the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions of the design teams.

WHO:	President Richard L. McCormick and representatives of the five internationally renowned design teams competing for the opportunity to help reinvent one of the nations oldest and most historic college campuses: Beyer Blinder Belle/Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Eisenman Architects, Morphosis-Thom Mayne, Antoine Predock and Ten Arquitectos-Enrique Norten
WHAT:	The design teams will present their proposals for reinventing the College Avenue campus, the presentations followed by a brief question-and-answer period. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.
WHEN AND WHERE:	Monday, Oct. 30, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Rutgers Student Center, Multipurpose Room, 126 College Avenue, New Brunswick. Parking will be available in lot #26 behind the student center. For directions to the student center, visit http://www.rc.rutgers.edu/centers/.

BACKGROUND: The leaders of the five design teams are:

Beyer Blinder Belle Architects and Planners LLP, New York, a joint venture with Ateliers Jean Nouvel, Paris. Beyer Blinder Belle has prepared comprehensive long-term campus plans for Columbia University, SUNY Stony Brook and Indiana University. Nouvels projects include design of the Arab World Institute in Paris and the Lucerne Cultural and Congress Center. Their Web sites are www.beyerblinderbelle.com and www.jeannouvel.com.

Eisenman Architects, New York. Projects include the Wexner Center for the Visual Arts and Fine Arts Library at Ohio State University and the Aronoff Center for Design and Art at the University of Cincinnati. Team member Field Operations projects include the Columbia University Open Space and Square in New York and a botanical garden and campus quadrangle at the University of Puerto Rico. The firms Web site is www.eisenmanarchitects.com.

Morphosis Thom Mayne, Santa Monica, Calif. The firm has worked on several major projects, including the Caltrans District 7 headquarters in Los Angeles, graduate student housing at the University of Toronto, the Student Recreation Center at the University of Cincinnati, a new academic building for The Cooper Union in New York and the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Caltech. Mayne is the winner of the 2005 Pritzker Prize for architecture. The firm can be found at www.morphosis.net.

Antoine Predock Architect PC, Albuquerque, N.M. Projects include the design of the Ohio State University Recreation and Physical Activity Center, Stanfords Center for Integrated Systems and Rices Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology. Another team member, the Olin Partnership, created development plans for the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Predock is the recipient of the American Institute of Architects Gold Medal. The firms Web site is www.predock.com.

Ten Arquitectos (Enrique Norten), Mexico City. The firms most recognized projects include the Queens Master Plan in Long Island City, N.Y., and the National School of Theater in Mexico City. Another project, designing a stainless steel screen to mask a parking structure on the southern edge of Princeton University, received the gold medal at the AIA/New Jersey Design Awards in 2002. The firm can be found at www.ten-arquitectos.com.

In February 2005, President McCormick released A New Vision for the College Avenue Campus in partnership with New Brunswick Mayor James Cahill. In December 2005, after receiving 15 responses to a Request for Qualifications, the university invited five teams of architects, landscape architects, urban planners and transportation experts to submit design concepts.

On June 14, 2006, Rutgers received a $1 million grant from Bank of America to help move the initiative forward. The grant represented the first major commitment of private funds to the College Avenue Campus project.

On Sept. 26, the university unveiled the proposals from the five design teams. The exhibition at the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, which is free and open to the public, runs through Tuesday, Oct. 31. Members of the public are able to register their reactions to the proposals through surveys at the museum and on the design competition Web site. The results will be shared with President McCormick.

Support for this initiative has been provided by a generous grant from Bank of America, funding from the Edward J. Bloustein and Ruth Ellen Steinman Memorial Lecture Fund, and gifts from alumni and friends.

For more information about the College Avenue Campus initiative and related events, go to collegeavenuecampus.rutgers.edu.

Contact: E.J. Miranda
732-932-7084, ext. 613
E-mail: emiranda@ur.rutgers.edu

061026-1

CACPublicPresentation.adv.ed

-->