Lewis Science Library
Gehry Partners, LLP

Photo: Thomas Mayer

The Lewis Science Library, located on a two acre site on the main campus, is envisioned as an efficient, easily accessible environment conducive to the research requirements of the Princeton University community in the 21st century.

The exterior is distinguished by its bold, curved roofline and center tower that rises to a height of 103 feet.


Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

The stair-stepped design and the materials, composed of stainless steel, light-colored brick, glass and stucco, were selected to relate to the scale and texture of the buildings nearby.

Photo: Thomas Mayer

You enter the multi-story atrium lobby from "the street," an area paved with rose-colored limestone. Walls in the building are painted in bright blue, orange and chartreuse.

"It's great to be in the main lobby space at different times of the day and to see how the light changes as it casts shadows from the mullions of the skylights onto the colored walls."

/Frank Gehry

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

The entrance to the library section of the building is on the first floor off the atrium. On the second floor, the library extends out of the tower into the glass-enclosed area that overlooks the atrium.  A star-shaped opening between two floors of the library is surrounded by shelves.

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

Photo: Thomas Mayer

The two-story "tree house," so named because the expansive, glass enclosed room skims the tree line and looks out into neighboring tree tops.

Photo: Thomas Mayer

The Lewis Science Library's mission to further the advancement of learning at Princeton University extends to the provision of a wide variety of electronic resources, including catalogs, indexes, reference tools, full text electronic books, electronic journals, numeric data, digital maps and images.

Sketch courtesy Gehry Partners, LLP

Model photo courtesy Gehry Partners, LLP