Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Camden Campuses

Ayers/Saint/Gross was hired to develop concurrent campus plans for the Rutgers University system, which includes:

• Rutgers New Brunswick/Piscataway: College Avenue Campus, Busch Campus, Cook Campus, Douglas Campus
• Rutgers Camden
• Rutgers Newark

With a variety of missions and physical contexts, each campus in the Rutgers system has unique planning issues, and each campus needed an equal amount of care and attention.

Rutgers-Camden is across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, with the benefits and challenges of its urban industrial context. As a primarily commuter school in south Jersey, the former campus did little to engage the city. With the help of Ayers/Saint/Gross, the planned campus expansion will create greater reciprocity between them. Strategies include improved streetscapes, new and rejuvenated campus and city open spaces, and increased residential and academic spaces. Since completion of this plan, Rutgers-Camden hired Ayers/Saint/Gross to design its new law school (link).

Rutgers-Newark was created as the city's first urban renewal project in the 1960s. Today, it is a robust research university struggling with expansion and an expensive urban market. Through Ayers/Saint/Gross's plan, this campus has an active part in the greater Newark Renaissance. Strategies include establishment of private-public mixed-use development, a shared research park, and expanded core academic space.

As the largest campus, New Brunswick/Piscataway is a network of five campuses on either side of the Raritan River. Each is distinct in its physical context and the students it serves. Ranging from urban to rural and agriculture to engineering, the challenge for Rutgers and Ayers/Saint/Gross was developing a comprehensive plan to maximize efficient usage and interaction, a clear regional open space network, and planning for growth to improve the special context and character of each campus. Each also partners with multiple municipalities to create market-rate housing for students, the faculty, and staff, and other redevelopment efforts.

Completion: 2003
Size: 2,193 total
Camden: 25 acres
Newark: 36 acres
New Brunswick/ Piscataway: 2,132 acres