Princeton University Meadows Apartments

Natural and Community Connections
Situated at the gateway to Princeton’s new Meadows Campus, this graduate student housing community is both grounded in its pastoral setting and a welcoming extension of main campus. Pivoting wings are arranged to optimize views and minimize impacts on the neighboring state park, while drawing pedestrian flow through paths and portals to the heart of the community.

At the south nexus of the development is an active plaza flanked by the community center and student café. Here residents can access lounge spaces, children’s play area, package center, study spaces and leasing office. This heart of the complex is an important magnet, providing critical social engagement and a break from campus demands — always available but separate from the quieter residential zones of the community. An exposed mass timber roof system brings a welcoming warmth and biophilic health benefits to gathering spaces in this active hub.

Graduate Student Priorities and Personal Choice
Balancing the active pedestrian character of the open quad, the three buildings define internal courtyards that provide resident privacy and varied activities—athletics, community gardening and quiet respite—while promoting a sense of place and shared identity. To serve a spectrum of personal preferences and cost sensitivity, the design incorporates a wide range of apartment configurations—13 different unit types in all. To support residents’ comfort, academic focus and overall well-being, all apartments are tuned for acoustic control, access to daylight, thermal comfort and biophilic connection to the site.

Advancing Performance with Passive House
Princeton has established a campus-wide goal to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2046.
This project was charged to set a high standard for future development, reflecting ambitious carbon performance and value-driven design. In response, Meadows Apartments is one of the largest Passive House certified projects in the country, with a high-performance envelope and building systems. Sustainability synergies unite the campus buildings from green infrastructure to geothermal exchange wells to renewable, low-carbon materials.

In concert with deep green integration, creative design strategies were evaluated with affordability in mind at each decision point. Leveraging a prefabricated wood-frame structure and locally sourced materials, Meadows Apartments was developed at a cost that is 35% less than other recently completed on-campus student residences locally and nationally.