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The Union Camp Corporation's former technology and research center in Princessville, New Jersey has been undergoing demolition since late October. The work attempts to "minimize the visual impact" of the former office building, in the words of the site supervisor. Ostensibly, the goal is to erase all contaminants of nostalgia from the site. And indeed, the Union Camp offices and laboratories were for a mere fifty years a fine, some might say exceptional, example of modern architecture. The widespread modernization of the corporate facade, and of the corporate image that occurred in the 1950's has left a profound mark on New Jersey. Yet at the same moment, we are seeing the widespread eradication of these monuments to the budding international jurisdiction of U.S. corporations. In a regrettable display of progress, the UC campus will be erased to yield to the coming international seat of the RCN home-programming corporation. The architectural impact upon international business that Union Camp helped to found, is being replaced by RCN's own attempt at character assertion. And RCN is no newcomer to progress. Its project of iconoclasm seeks to upset the control and power of the older, 1950's telecommunications monopolies. And as a sign of their dedication to upset control, the business they specialize in, RCN has chosen to build a new office larger than any other in Mercer County. The former record was held by Bristol-Myers-Squibb of Hightstown. For the time being, we can simply appreciate passing nature of architectural values, the necessity for new forms and for progress, and the heedlessness of technological advancement.
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