Frist Health Center at Princeton, Princeton, NJ, USA

The Frist Health Center at Princeton University is situated at the heart of campus and integrates health and well-being into daily life to foster a “culture of wellness.” This new building emphasizes holistic health and contains consultation and exam rooms, counseling rooms, and offices for administration, all revolving around physical and mental health - embracing a biophilic design by incorporating natural elements and patterns- extending beyond traditional healthcare facilities while providing medical services and a space for students to study, socialize and recharge.

This is the first collaboration between WRSN Studio and Transsolar, but Transsolar’s third assignment for Princeton University. Transsolar’s previous work includes the Princeton Building Energy Vision, in which Princeton selected Transsolar to lead an exploration of how the university can take a more aggressive stance toward energy efficiency in architecture, contributing to a possible net zero carbon goal.

This study led to a new process and additional funding available from the university which encourages newer, more innovative and sustainable buildings in the future. This new building was one of the first projects to be designed within this new process and funding mechanism.

Creating a healthy environment centered on providing daylight, natural ventilation, use of wood, and biophilic architecture. A portion of the project is an adaptive reuse of Eno Hall, an existing academic building, which is connected to the new building by a central light -filled atrium. The south-facing entry vestibule is transformed into a plant-filled winter garden– which Transsolar proposed -, creating a welcoming and vibrant transition into the building. Throughout the space, nature-inspired shading screens play a vital role—not only do they enhance visual interest with their organic patterns, but they also ensure thermal comfort. The fixed shading is designed to allow users to open the windows all the way while also preventing falling out of the window.

Overhead, the exposed mass timber structure is prominently featured as the ceiling, allowing the natural beauty of the wood to define the atmosphere and connect the interior to its biophilic design principles. Transsolar played a critical role in showing the energy, carbon, and experience benefits of mass timber, radiant heating and cooling, and the winter garden, thus securing funding for these features via Princeton’s new process. Transsolar also supported early concept design studies showing the benefits of reusing the historic Eno Hall in the building plan.

The project is targeting LEED Gold and includes other sustainable features such as green roofs and native plantings for stormwater management.