living-writing: Traditions and Breakthroughs in Princeton

Marija @ bent spoon

Greg at PJ's

Palimpsest at PJ's

On our first morning at Princeton, Greg took us to PJ's for breakfast - the only place he knew where one could get, what he was pleased to call, "an honest breakfast" in Princeton. It is said to be "a venerable, cultural Princeton icon for over 35 years" according to its website, and has been extremely popular with students and alumni, as can be attested by the repeatedly carved and carved over, palimpsest-like, tabletops.
Another favorite local hang-out is an artisan ice cream shop called Bent Spoon. The varieties of ice cream and sorbet flavors which they offer seem to be limited only by one's imagination and willingness to experiment. The olive oil ice cream, however, was not a big hit with the crowd when we were there yesterday.

Lewis Library

As I was driving down Washington Road one time, I noticed a pile of irregularly-formed roofs out of the corner of my eye and a thought flitted across my mind that it might be something by Frank Gehry that I just passed. (You'll get the picture once you click the link to Google Images on F.G.) I looked it up as soon as I got back to the dorm, and sure enough there is indeed a Frank Gehry building, the Lewis Library, on campus. It is hard to say whether it is a sore sight or a sight for sore eyes, but its unconventional building form is definitely a departure from the prevalent Collegiate Gothic style of buildings on campus. I took a thorough walk around the outside and inside of the building yesterday, trying to determine its merits and demerits, vis-a-vis its intended function, i.e., a research library. For the former, I think he created some brightly-lit, plushly furnished study spaces, classrooms, and offices, all with interesting views, on every floor of the library. The students and researchers are truly privileged to be able to work in such a "happy" environment as this.

"Tree House" - 2nd Floor

Common reading area - 2nd Floor

For the latter, on the other hand, it seems to me that he has once again applied his signature formal language to yet another building type, which he manages somehow to claim to be an architectural expression developed as a response to the specific visual context of the surrounding buildings - to be a good neighbor, as it were. (See article.)
Gehrey said that he'd like the building to inspire the researchers to think outside of the box. My sense is that in some spaces in the building, the visual "noise" gets so loud as to be a distraction from serious studying.