Architectural History
Fuld Hall
Fuld Hall forms the center of IAS campus life. Designed by architect Jens Fredrick Larson and completed in 1939, Fuld Hall is named for IAS co-founder Caroline Bamberger Fuld and her late husband Felix Fuld. The building is home to the Director’s Office, the Mathematics - Natural Sciences Library, the Historical Studies Lounge, numerous scholar offices, and the common room where daily afternoon tea is served.
Campus Housing
In 1955, Director J. Robert Oppenheimer hired the renowned architect Marcel Breuer to design a complex for Member housing. The arrangement was intended to provide an environment in which the community spirit of IAS Membership could be fostered. The Breuer design was so successful that the Institute made only very minor changes when the housing was expanded in 1968, and again in 1973 and 2000.
Historical Studies - Social Science Library
Design for a dedicated library for the Schools of Historical Studies and Social Science began in 1963. The structure was completed in 1965. The architect was Wallace K. Harrison of Harrison and Abramovitz Architects, a firm noteworthy for its work on Rockefeller Center. Robert R. Wilson’s Nike sculpture, commissioned by former director J. Robert Oppenheimer, was installed upon the dedication of the building on April 24, 1965.
Simons Hall & West Building
In 1972, Robert Geddes of Geddes, Brecher, Qualls, and Cunningham was enlisted to design a new dining hall, alongside a suite of offices and seminar rooms for Members in the Schools of Historical Studies and Social Science, now known as West Building. In 2011, the dining hall was renamed Simons Hall, in recognition of the generous benefaction of Jim and Marilyn Simons.
Simonyi Hall & Wolfensohn Hall
The year 1994 saw the addition of two new campus buildings, designed by Cesar Pelli of Cesar Pelli & Associates—Simonyi Hall, which houses the School of Mathematics, and Wolfensohn Hall, a 220-seat auditorium which hosts lectures, concerts, and films. Simonyi Hall was dedicated in 2000 in recognition of software architect Charles Simonyi’s commitment to the work of the Institute. Wolfensohn Hall was named for lawyer and investment banker James Wolfensohn, who served on the Institute’s Board of Trustees from 1979–2007, becoming its longest serving chairman during this time. The construction of Simonyi and Wolfensohn Halls created a large three-sided quadrangle which serves as a courtyard, designed by Diana Balmori.
Bloomberg Hall
In the late 1990s, architect Robert Geddes of Geddes Demshak Architecture and Planning began designing a new building to house the School of Natural Sciences. It incorporated two existing campus buildings as pavilions at the end of a 30,000-square-foot connecting structure. It was dedicated on May 3, 2002 in honor of former Institute Trustee Michael Bloomberg. A new addition to Bloomberg Hall, housing the Simons Center for Systems Biology, opened in 2008.
Rubenstein Commons
Construction of the Commons, designed by Steven Holl Architects, began in 2018 under the directorship of Robbert Dijkgraaf. It was officially completed in 2022, following the appointment of David Nirenberg as Director. Enabled through a visionary gift from businessman David M. Rubenstein, the 17,175-square-foot building provides a communal and flexible gathering place for the Institute’s research community.