The Institute is housed in a 20,000 square foot facility containing six classrooms, four seminar rooms, a large public auditorium, a television studio, faculty offices for the College Department of Politics, Institute administrative office, the Common Grounds cafe, a research center and a aomputer lab.
The breathtaking architecture of the NHIOP is a masterful blend of two themes—the Benedictine tradition and the Cold War. The first theme involves the Benedictine character of Saint Anselm College. There was an explicit attempt to blend this new addition to the campus’ most defining architectural statement, which is the Abbey Church. As such, all of the interior details, which include slate floors, Italian wall tile and mahogany paneling, are reminiscent of that building.
The second theme is distinctly political in nature. The New Hampshire Historical Society determined in 1999 that this building, the former Crafts Brothers’ U.S. Army Reserve property, is representative of a so-called Cold War architectural style, and, as such, worthy of preservation. The Cold War style refers to, in particular, the narrow window openings of the front of the building facing Saint Anselm Drive. Not to be altered in any way, these windows were designed in the early 1950s, during a time in American political history when there was a return to efficiencyand economy following the Second World War.
We have preserved these openings and have added some other Cold War features. For instance, the staggered window screens that appear throughout the facility were a common feature of buildings in the 1960s. Some of our furniture is also from the Cold War period. Most notably, the chairs located in the Reading Room had previously been used in Albert Einstein’s Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey.
The various hall displays and object d’art in the NHIOP reflect our concern with citizenship, democracy and international affairs. The Hall of Flags hosts the Common Ground Café and features flags from around the world, and campaign posters from past American presidential elections. In the gallery, we have framed photos of candidates visiting New Hampshire and Saint Anselm College. This progression from the global to the local represents the vision of the NHIOP to prepare students for a lifetime of civic participation, both as a citizen of the United States and as a member of an increasingly interdependent world community.
In its totality, the architectural style of the NHIOP is designed to be welcoming to all visitors, to convey a message of seriousness and purpose and to represent a permanence found in the universal truths that form the core of the Anselmian mission.
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