By Matthew Hersh

“Local man opens architectural firm.”

April 1, 1966 was just another day for local business in Princeton, and the Princeton Packet headline shared the news that J. Robert “Bob” Hillier, a graduate from the Princeton University School of Architecture, opened the doors at his new, burgeoning boutique firm at 44 Nassau Street.

It wouldn’t be long before the firm, then Hillier Architecture, became the third largest architectural firm in the U.S. In 2007, Hillier merged with RMJM of Scotland with 17 offices worldwide. The Hillier firm has received over 300 state, national, and international design awards.

The year 2009 saw the founding of Studio Hillier, whose philosophy centers on land use strategy and execution where the firm both designs and develops projects, focusing on community needs and neighborhood enhancement.

Local man, indeed. In the 60 years since Hillier launched his first office (with a travertine lobby that would eventually attract his first client), the firm has touched on some of the most important architectural achievements globally, while placing an enhancement on the real-life, lived experience people have every day in a Hillier-designed building. From Vienna to India, from China to the U.K., and from Lawrenceville to Princeton to Newark, Hillier and his firm’s design and imprimatur have been part of the daily existence of a global and local audience.

While those early days of Hillier Architecture were lean, there were auspicious signs, starting with the architectural detail on display for prospective clients. Remember the travertine lobby? A client coming from California was building a new house in New Jersey and was looking for a local architect when she found Hillier and another up-and-comer, Michael Graves.

“We had a travertine lobby, a beautiful stairway, and an elevator, and we sat on boxes of books in the office because we had just moved in,” said Hillier, who is also publisher of Town Topics. “We chatted about the client’s house and what she wanted, but it didn’t matter: the travertine lobby made the difference, and so, I ended up getting the project.” He had originally intended to open up shop and do traditional houses in Princeton.

He continued, “I used to say I did houses for rich dentists because one of my first clients was a dentist, but because of that first client, we did a modern house on a lake in Hopewell and it was just a great experience, particularly since it was my very first house.”

In those early days when Hillier was trying to establish a client base and get his footing in the market, he was also paying attention to his more experienced predecessors at the Princeton University School of Architecture and now-famous names in architecture: Charles Moore, Donlyn Lyndon, and William Turnbull Jr.

“They were designing sea ranches in California and they were doing all this neat stuff. I thought I would try that here in Princeton,” Hillier said. The result was taking design cues from the wooded sea ranch model, and adjusting it for Princeton’s wooded environs: a “shed collision,” Hillier called it.

“All my sites were wooded so people were fine with putting these ‘shed collision’ houses in the woods since you never saw them. We never did a regular, Colonial house,” he said.

There are many not-so-secret ways Hillier describes the success and longevity of his architectural endeavors. Adherence to client-driven projects, producing works that are context-sensitive, and serving community needs are just the top of what drives Hillier’s success.

“We bring the client in and do a deep dive into what they’re looking for and then we put together concepts that would possibly solve their problem,” Hillier said. “None of the concepts are perfect, but we go through each one so people can see what they like and do not like.

“We’re selling a program, which is why our architecture is so varied. The projects are so different and each one solves a specific problem and that’s how we got into some really amazing work around the world,” he said.

Now, the firm, Studio Hillier, LLC, having moved from Princeton to West Windsor and back to Princeton, will host an Open Studio celebration of Hillier’s 60 years in architecture at the firm’s home since 2012 at 190 Witherspoon Street on Saturday May 16, at 1 p.m. The Open Studio is open to the public and will include live music, dancing,
and refreshments.

Co-founded in 2011 by Hillier and his late wife, Barbara A. Hillier, AIA, the firm is now established as a full-service design studio, located in the heart of the historic Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood, and operates out of a transformed machine shop and warehouse.

The Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood is another example of good design being sensitive to context and history, Hillier said. The Waxwood apartment building, for example, had been the Witherspoon School for Colored Children in Princeton, accommodating over 200 African American Princeton children, kindergarten to eighth grade. The school was led by principals Charles Robert Thompson, Margaret Thompson, Esther Cousins, and Howard B. Waxwood Jr.

In addition to paying attention to the historical detail of the building — including restoring its high interior ceilings and custom making the large, thermopane-glazed windows to fit the outsized window panels — the firm sought, and succeeded in acquiring, a designation on the National Register of Historic Places. The Witherspoon School famously merged with the all-white Nassau Street School, a result of the 1948 Princeton Plan, which went on to become a national integration model.

Today, a portion of the units in the Waxwood are reserved for existing Witherspoon-Jackson residents. “Preserving neighborhood residency is a really important part of this project,” he said.

Hillier credits his team of experienced designers and architects for the success of Studio Hillier; a sum of its parts rather than a sum of the work of the name on the door.

“I’ve had the opportunity to do buildings that have been more of an impact than others. Clients desire to achieve something special. It all starts with the client and what they’re trying to do and why they’re trying to do it,” said Hillier.

For more information on Studio Hillier, its work, and the May 16 Open Studio, visit studiohillier.com and find them on Facebook using the handle “studiohillier.”