Week 5

building selection and justification

Antonio Moretz

Name of Building - The Princeton Graded School
Date of Construction - 1925-1926
Designer - S.L. Smith
Location - 601-611 W. Edwards St. Princeton, N.C.

This school was one of 5300 schools built for African- Americans in the 1920’s, funded partially with personal money from Julius Rosenwald, the owner of Sears and Roebuck department stores. These schools brought together the small African- American communities to raise additional funds and collectively have a school of their own. The Princeton Graded School was built using a set of plans provided to the community and changed in size according to the needs of that town. The building utilizes a north-south direction that helps with heating and over sized windows provided natural daylight that was specified by the designer. Clerestories were utilized to provide additional natural light. A large auditorium was included for the students as well as a meeting place for the community. This brick building was build using the community’s volunteer labor, in addition to local skilled labor. This truly was a building built By the People, For the People.
This building is Crucial to the history of America and the history of Universal Design of desegregated schools being built today.

Opus Week 4