Environmental studies building to be named after Devon and Pete Briger ’86

A new environmental studies building will be named Briger Hall in honor of Pete Briger ’86 and Devon Briger’s donation to the Venture Forward campaign.

The announcement came in a press release from President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 on April 17. “I am deeply grateful to Devon and Pete for their generosity and their abiding commitment to interdisciplinary research,” Eisgruber wrote in the announcement.

Briger Hall is located on the west side of the new Environmental Studies and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (ES & SEAS) complex, set to open in Fall 2025. The building will house the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) as well as the departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and Geosciences.

The ES & SEAS complex is a part of the 2026 Campus Plan, which aims to create a “mission-centered vision both for the campus’s more historic precincts and for areas whose identities are still being shaped — including the campus lands east of Washington Road.” Construction of the new complex began in February 2022, and is now set to open in Fall 2025.

University spokesperson Molly Seltzer wrote in a statement to The Daily Princetonian that the new building would span a great many disciplines.

“Briger Hall has been designed with the aim of promoting interdisciplinary scholarship among environmental studies researchers at the intersection of engineering, public policy, computer science, applied mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, and the humanities, among other disciplines,” she wrote.

Briger Hall is set to expand lab and teaching capacities and replace outdated facilities with those purpose-built for science and scholarship. The ES & SEAS complex is in line with the University‘s Sustainability Action Plan.

The building features “geo-exchange heating and cooling, a green roof, high-performance exteriors, rainwater harvesting and low embodied carbon materials,” according to Seltzer.

The naming of Briger Hall follows the naming of Sotomayor Hall — formerly unnamed — last month. Pete Briger declined any additional comments beyond the press release on April 17.

Several other projects are projected to be completed this year. In the summer, Phase 3 of the new fitness center, which will replace the current Stephens Fitness Center area with a space focused on functional training equipment, will be complete, and in the fall, the Art Museum will also be opening, debuting with a 24-hour open house. Earlier in the year, the Frist Health Center opened, replacing the McCosh Health Center.

“Our hope is that this gift will allow for a hub and engine for the type of interdisciplinary, collaborative and actionable scholarship,” the Brigers said in the press announcement.

Katelynn Lee is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’