“Our collaboration with Pimar on the construction of the Lewis Arts Complex for Princeton University has resulted in the creation of a new set of splendid buildings based on a project that was awarded the ‘Building of the Year’ recognition by the “Architect’s Newspaper”. We will all be enthusiastic about having an opportunity to work with Pimar great team in future, and make use of their Lecce stone, a very stimulating material." - Steven Holl
The grandiose Lewis Arts Complex designed by Steven Holl for Princeton University was born of a need to create a space entirely dedicated to the creative arts, such as dance, music and the theatre. Three, in fact, are the new buildings that extend over an area of approx. 13,000 sqm: the Wallace Dance Building and Theatre, a round body enclosing the theatre and dance halls; the Arts Tower, a central tower that hosts the facilities dedicated to literature and the visual arts, and the New Music Building, a square-shaped structure reserved for music.
In this project, besides experimenting with diversified architectural forms, Steven Holl enjoys juxtaposing different materials and using light effects in a particularly interesting way, as if light was a surface. i.e., a structural component of the building. Alongside glass, which he uses to explore most effectively the interaction between exterior and interior, the architect opted for a highly “stimulating” cladding material, of great fascination: Pimar natural stone. The prestige and the light of Pimar natural stone give the Lewis Arts Complex an unusual degree of luminosity, thanks to the beige-coloured natural stone, which goes perfectly well with all the other materials: glass, concrete, wood. Flat and curved slabs, all of them measuring 90x150x7.5 cm, were used to clad an overall facade area of 4,000 m2, while special pieces were used for the corners and decorations with cavities carved in the stone.
