The 111,900 gross square-foot edifice, housing the fifth largest school of architecture in the United States, is the jewel in a complex of five buildings that are part of new construction or renovation at NJIT. It was designed by the architectural firm, The Hillier Group of Princeton, NJ, and built at a cost of $26.6 million.

"This whole building was conceived as a kind of facility that does not exist anywhere else: It is a School of Architecture that responds to the needs of the future. We realize, however, that it comes with the expectation that we excel even more in the future," Dean Urs P. Gauchat said.

The new building is a southward extension of Weston Hall, a long building along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the University Heights district of Newark. Access from the campus is along an elevated ramp from Summit Place, rising to a distinctive new entrance pavilion at the juncture of the old Weston Hall and the new extension.

A soaring "kinetic" atrium at the entrance connects the old and new buildings while preserving the identity of each. Inside the atrium, a hub of function and activity, is the connection between all floors. From the entry, one can see the gallery, studio, library, teaching spaces and the administrative offices. In contrast to the old Weston Hall, the new building enjoys openness, and from within the large complex, offers long views of the two major cities of Newark and New York beyond.

It provides an educational environment that makes it a pleasure in which to teach and learn.

As part of the renovation, old Weston Hall has been given a new brick exterior to match the new building, which has yet to be named as the School of Architecture seeks a benefactor.

Eventually, every student desk is expected to be wired for access to the local NJIT and School of Architecture Imaging Laboratory network as well as to the Internet, helping the School to maintain its position as a national leader in the area of CAD/graphics.

The building really makes a statement from within, and statement about NJIT in regards to its relationship with the City of Newark, one of the architectural concepts that gave rise to the building form was its presence as a lantern on the hill. Students will be working around the clock, so the building will be illuminated at all hours.

Conceptually the building was developed by architect Alan Chimicoff (a member of the Professional Advisory Board), the chief designer of The Hillier Group, along with a faculty committee from the School of Architecture.

The functional aspects and their disposition within the building respect how we perceive our own needs. It is remarkable that the architects were able to respond to our needs as closely as they did and the building provides an important link that ties the South campus to the rest of the campus.

"All can be seen as dynamic, angular and kinetic in contrast to the measured regimentation of old Weston and to the systematic arrangements of the new studio building. Here the contrast between the regular and irregular, between normative thesis and antithetical counterproposal is joined in a dialog that simultaneously reveres and challenges convention," said Chimicoff.

Click here for a location map of Weston Hall on the NJIT campus.