In its choice for the prestigious 2021 Pritzker Prize the jury chose Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, vocal advocates for the reuse of existing structures. As quoted in John Dixon’s piece about this year’s honorees (officeinsight April 5th, 2021) Lacaton states eloquently, “Transformation is the opportunity to do more and better with what already exists. Demolishing is a waste of many things – a waste of energy, a waste of materials, and a waste of history. For us, it is an act of violence.” I love that through their whole career(s) they have never demolished a building just to replace it with a new one.
30 Mac is an adaptive reuse project in Princeton, New Jersey, that has recently been awarded LEED for Homes Gold certification. It is located at – you guessed it – 30 MacLean Street and it’s a great example of how smaller scale projects can have a positive impact on a neighborhood and the larger community while saving, to paraphrase Lacaton, energy, materials and importantly – history.
Joshua Zinder, architect and managing partner of Joshua Zinder Architecture + Design (JZA+D) and current president of AIA New Jersey joined with friends Jared Witt and Roland Pott to form a development group, Princeton Maclean LLC.
In a Zoom interview, Mr. Zinder said, “Our goal was to introduce much-needed new residential units to the historically significant Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood.”
The Witherspoon Jackson neighborhood is historically significant because of its role as the African-American neighborhood of Princeton. In the census of 1800 the vast majority of the black population living in the county were enslaved. By the 1820 census the percentage of enslaved to free-blacks had dropped to less than half. By the 1840s the neighborhood had its own church, The Witherspoon Presbyterian Church, and over time Witherspoon Jackson became a thriving district with its own schools and business of all sorts, serving those who lived there.
So in the process of looking for a building to invest in, the partners came across 30 MacLean, a disused and decaying former Masonic Temple. It had been the home of the city’s African American Masonic Aaron Lodge No. 9 since it was built in 1913. After a fire the building was re-dedicated in 1945. Along with a brand new 2020, the dates of significant reconstruction of the building are commemorated in a re-creation of the original cornerstone.
The original name-plaque on the building was removed during the renovation and presented as a gift to the still-active lodge. The one currently seen on the front façade is an exact re-creation of that original.
“We wanted to make 30 Mac a sustainable, environmentally-minded experience for residents and neighbors,” says Zinder. “At the same time, we wanted to preserve a locally iconic building, venerating the classic distinction of this historic neighborhood.”
A measure of their success in doing so is that the building has become a highlight as one of the 20 or so stops on a “Heritage Tour” of the Witherspoon Jackson area.
The building, as originally constructed, consisted of three floors and a mezzanine. But Mr. Zinder realized that in order to make the renovation economically viable they would need to fill-in the open space of the mezzanine, giving the building four floors for development. He conceived a massing plan that created 10 units on four floors.
The gut renovation introduced units ranging in size from 500 to 1,000sf and floor plans for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units including some split-level apartments.
The process of gutting the old construction yielded a significant amount of old-growth pine. Rather than just disposing of it, the JZA+D team designed a line of furniture that will go on sale soon at a local retail store, Homestead, in Princeton.
“By reusing wood, concrete and steel, we are avoiding much of the impact on the environment that comes with new construction,” says Zinder, “In this case we were able to combine reuse with historic preservation to retain the look of the original facade, restoring or recreating many of the original architectural details.”
As with most adaptive reuse projects, some entirely new construction was required. In this case an elevator tower was added at the side of the building in order to provide easy access to the upper floors, while providing a private entry to each unit.
The design of the 7,600-square-foot residence includes high-efficiency mechanical systems, lighting, and plumbing fixtures — and then goes much further by incorporating features that take advantage of the walkable neighborhood just a few minutes from downtown Princeton and Princeton University. For example, a bicycle storage room in the elevator tower encourages residents to drive less.
To realize an eco-friendly development, the design includes sustainable landscaping with new trees and plantings and a shared patio area.
The new mixed-income development, dubbed 30 Mac, opened its doors last summer and has been fully occupied for months now — tenants have moved into all ten units, including two that comply with state and local requirements for affordable housing.
