Renowned architect Michael Graves attended the Green Lane Building Dedication Ceremony at Kean University on October 25, 2014. The building now houses the Michael Graves College, with its School of Public Architecture and the Robert Busch School of Design.

The Kean University Board of Trustees has voted to authorize the purchase of The Warehouse, the Princeton home of the late architect Michael Graves, and two other Graves’ properties in Princeton for $20. A gift to the University by the Graves estate, Kean plans to develop the an education research center for architecture and design at The Warehouse. Graves, a renowned architect who died in 2015, designed more than 350 buildings around the world and was a guiding force in the development of the Michael Graves College at Kean University and its School of Public Architecture.

“Michael Graves was a good friend to Kean University,” said Kean President Dr. Dawood Farahi. “His home, The Warehouse, where he lived and worked, will provide our students with access to the thinking, the inspiration and internal processes of one of the most visionary and prolific architects of our time.”

The furnishings and other items in Graves’ home will be handled separately with the Graves’ estate, after the transfer of The Warehouse and the other properties is complete.

Kean University envisions an education center for architecture and design students, with seminars for advanced students, salons for key academic leaders and professionals, small conferences, and in the future, brief residential fellowships for leading architects, designers, and artists.

“The Warehouse provided Michael Graves with a canvas to develop and enhance his ideas about architecture over the last 40 years of his life. It will be an incredible resource for our diverse population of students, who will experience first-hand how the brilliant mind of Michael Graves approached architecture and design,” said David Mohney, FAIA, dean of the Michael Graves College at Kean University.

Graves was committed to the highest level of education for architecture and design students and was a member of the advisory committee that developed the Kean University architecture program that is now part of Michael Graves College. The Michael Graves College houses the School of Public Architecture and the Robert Busch School of Design on the Union campus and on the Wenzhou-Kean University campus in Wenzhou, China. The School of Public Architecture opened in fall 2015 with a full cohort of New Jersey students in its Bachelor of Arts in Architectural Studies program. The Master of Architecture program will accept its first cohort of students in the fall of 2019.

“The Warehouse is a perfect expression of Michael’s humanistic design philosophy, with its thoughtful integration of architecture, interiors, furniture, artifacts, artwork and landscape,” said Linda Kinsey, principal at Michael Graves Architecture & Design. “MGA&D is very pleased that the Michael Graves College at Kean University, under the visionary leadership of President Dr. Dawood Farahi, is bringing Michael’s vision to life. Our firm looks forward to working closely with Kean to program the new center in order to make it an invaluable resource for scholars as well as for young architects and design students for generations to come.”