PRINCETON UNIVERSITY EMBODIED COMPUTATION LAB, Princeton, New Jersey | 2016

Architects: The Living

Client: Princeton University School of Architecture
General Contractor: Epic Management Inc.

Commissioned by Princeton University, the Embodied Computation Lab is a simple but futuristic building hosting research on the future of buildings. Just as biologists use an electron microscope to study organisms, architects will use our structure to study buildings and construction systems. The building will be a model for new sustainability and low-carbon features, including extremely low embodied energy through a unique structure and envelope made of local timber.

The small site has a history of architectural innovation, including Buckminster Fuller’s first Geosphere. The new building will be an “open source building”—specifically designed to be rewritten and to evolve over time. The project includes a flexible plan, an “incomplete” open frame to host new envelope systems, a “quick release” facade system to allow swapping and testing of different panels, and a mechanical system with sensors and “plug-and-play” equipment and heat sources.

An open, flexible layout allows for reconfiguration of classroom, workshop, robotic equipment, testing, and exhibition space. Research will include automated construction, embedded sensors, feedback systems, geothermal wells, energy harnessing, and wall and roof prototypes. Projects will involve interdisciplinary collaboration between architects, engineers, computer scientists, and artists.