Arthi Krishnamoorthy of Deborah Berke Partners | The Princeton Residential Colleges in Princeton | In-Between Space
Courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners
In-Between Space
I am joined today by our guest Arthi Krishnamoorthy and we discuss topics of the two new residential colleges that her team has designed at Princeton University, including strategies she implements to help make university buildings feel more like home for students that are coming from near and far. Additionally, we discuss the topics of how to integrate inside and outside to connect the colleges to the site and to the landscape, how to create designs that transform architectural spaces into homes for students and how she has addressed the impact of COVID-19 while building on-campus housing.
The Princeton residential colleges, which Arthi and her firm are currently designing, accommodate an additional 125 students per class along with new social spaces, a dining hall, and servery. The 485,000-square-foot project allows for an overlapping relationship between the indoors and outdoors by creating an “in-between space” that includes several passageways, courtyards, and thresholds in the design. Arthi shares with us the specific tools and strategies she uses when building dormitory projects, such as this one.
If you are interested in learning more, we will share some of Deborah Berke Partner’s most complex projects that connect design-thinking to their missions. Join us today as we discuss Arthi’s journey from Southeast Asia to the cornfields of Urbana-Champaign to West Philadelphia as well as how she brings to her designs to transform architectural spaces.
“We design spaces for people to come together and for solitude. And sometimes we think also about our interior design in a way to think about how it can relate to many people. Sometimes being deliberately eclectic, or deliberately relating to a place in a very authentic way. So that it’s again, not stylistic in one way, but that it is eclectic in a purposeful way, authentic in a purposeful way that it can relate to many, many people.”
Courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners
About Arthi Krishnamoorthy
Arthi Krishnamoorthy has led several projects, including designing spaces for Princeton University and The Women’s Building, as a partner at the renowned architectural design firm Deborah Berke Partners, New York City. She has led some of the firm's most complex projects and has built a focus on work for mission-driven organizations — work for universities, cultural institutions, and non-profits — connecting design-thinking to their missions. Through this work, she has developed an expertise in helping groups forge common purpose and in leading them to discoveries that can shape their evolution. Arthi is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the University of Pennsylvania.
Courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners
Courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners
Episode Timestamps
6:01 – How would you compare the experiences that you've had at the different firms you’ve worked at over your career?
14:43 – Who has played a role in your growth as a designer?
20:09 – Let our listeners understand what is so particularly unique and special about Princeton and the site that you have had the opportunity to design.
22:36 – Could you explain what that system is for undergraduates and also compare what that system is for graduates?
27:45 – What was the project brief that the university gave you at the outset? And then how did you go about preparing the design response?
33:50 – Could you talk to us about the visible materials that someone would be looking at, feeling or touching as they're walking through these new buildings?
38:10 – So a key feature of the ten-year plan is the growth of the student body at Princeton. Talk to us more about who goes to Princeton now and what will be going in the future.
41:47 – How can the design of a building help accommodate and make the transition easier for students, particularly international ones?
44:05 – Could you talk about the other folks that are part of this design process and how their work and their selections played a part in the larger design?
47:00 – Where do you place this project in the larger portfolio of work that you've done?
Connect with Arthi Krishnamoorthy:
Courtesy of Deborah Berke Partners
About your host:
Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of Commonplace, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.
His work has been covered by Technology Review, The Real Deal, Commercial Observer, and Propmodo. He’s also a frequent speaker on the future of buildings and cities on popular industry podcasts and at conferences, including this past year at the Commercial Observer National DEI Conference, Yale AREA Conference, Columbia Real Estate Symposium, Open Data Week NYC and Austin Design Week.
About Commonplace
Commonplace is a founding sponsor of American Building. It is a 100% minority-owned, real estate technology company founded in 2020 to make financing social impact development projects across the US easier. It is funded by venture capital investors Hometeam Ventures, Park West Asset Management, New York Ventures and Shadow Ventures.
About Michael Graves
The world-famous design firm Michael Graves is also a founding sponsor of American Building. Its namesake, the iconoclastic designer Michael Graves, FAIA was a fierce advocate for people-centric design. His work defines a generation of American architecture and includes the Portland Building, the Humana Building and the Denver Public Library. The 1st season of American Building was filmed live at The Warehouse, his historic home in Princeton, New Jersey:
Rate, Review, & Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Did you love this episode? Let us know by rating and review our show on Apple Podcasts. It’s easy - simply click this link, click on Listen on Apple Podcasts, scroll to the bottom of the page, and select “Write a Review”. Let us know what you liked best about the episode, and what others can expect when they listen to our show.
While you’re at it, consider subscribing to American Building. When you subscribe, you can guarantee you never miss a conversation with one our renowned designers, architects, and developers. Subscribe now!
