<p><a href="http://www.princeton.edu/rc/%5B/url%5D">http://www.princeton.edu/rc/</a></p>
<p>Click on the FAQ for the latest party line on the eating clubs. ;) </p>
<p>"The eating clubs offer very attractive physical settings in which relatively small groups of third- and fourth-year students can organize their dining, social and in some cases cultural, intellectual and other aspects of their lives. These organizations afford valuable opportunities for exercising independence, creating and strengthening friendships, and developing leadership. Because the number of third- and fourth-year students that will be added by the approved increase in the size of undergraduate classes (approximately 250) is equivalent to the number of additional third- and fourth-year students that can be accommodated in the new residential college facilities, the total number of third- and fourth-year students potentially available to become members of eating clubs would remain the same."</p>
<p>really exciting stuff re: butler and whitman!</p>
<p>Okay, the reason they're tearing down Butler and building new dorms is because they are ugly. However, I think the new dorms are ugly as well... What's the point? The proposed designs would be so out of place at Princeton. They should continue the Collegiate Gothic theme... maybe even Georgian or Neoclassical. But this modern, curvy, pansy stuff needs to stop.</p>
<p>here's the challenge: the new butler dorms have to mediate both stylistically and schematically between wu hall, which is remaining as butler's dining hall, and bloomberg and scully dormitories, which are and will be the new buildings' neighbors to the south and east. all three of those buildings are postmodern in style, executed in orange and red brick, but with echoes of princeton's historic buildings, e.g. limestone window trim. from the few images shown, it looks like the architect (henry cobb of pei cobb) has performed this mediation about as well as possible: the new butler buildings will "feel" of one piece with both wu and bloomberg/scully. that said, i think the buildings could benefit from greater fenestration - they look at little brick-heavy and window-light right now, which is by no means necessary, given modern structural engineering. they could also use a monumental or ornamental feature or two, like wu's curved window wall, bloomberg's overscaled entrance arch, and scully's tower with its stylized princeton shield in iron.</p>
<p>They are tearing down most of old Butler!? Hallelujah! I thought the day would never come... It is so ugly... New buildings would be so much nicer.</p>