A lesser star: After Renzo Piano pulled out of an opportunity to design an “arts neighborhood” at Princeton University, the institution looked for a “lesser-known firm” to take on the project, reports The Daily Princetonian. They settled on Steven Holl — which is like saying Ursa Major is a lesser-known constellation than Orion. Mr. Holl, who has been recognized as a “best architect” by Time magazine, will design buildings for the university’s theater, music, and dance programs. Mr. Piano’s firm pulled out because it was already overbooked and could not devote time to the project. —Scott Carlson

Newspaper denies rumor: Rumor in Philadelphia says Drexel University may buy the building that houses The Philadelphia Inquirer. A spokeswoman for the university told the student newspaper that Drexel is considering the purchase of a number of properties, including the Inky building, amid the growth of the university’s health-sciences programs. The Inquirer’s publisher said there was “no meat” to the rumor. —S.C.

Where to go?: People in Washington State expect some debate over the location of a new University of Washington campus. The choices have come down to an old transit center or a sprawling prairie, each with advantages and disadvantages, reports The Bellingham Herald. —S.C.

And you thought designing for your campus was hard: The South Pole has long been the hangout of choice for a select brand of researchers who don’t mind freezing their nasal hairs and who relish the crystal-clear views of the sky. Now those scientists have a new home at the bottom of the world. The National Science Foundation last Saturday dedicated the recently completed Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. This is the third version of an American station at the spot. The first one, built in the 1950s, has long since disappeared under 30 feet of snow. The second one, housed inside a giant geodesic dome, was showing signs of age and getting buried by snow every winter, requiring heroic efforts to keep it functioning. The new station is built on stilts, so the relentless winds will help keep the station from getting buried. And the stilts can be jacked up to raise the whole station. (See this blurb in Popular Science.) Pictures and diagrams of the new facility are available here. —Richard Monastersky

Really old Harvard: Remnants of an early Harvard University have been found in excavations on the university campus, according to an article in the The Times of London. Old lead type — possibly dating to the 17th century — has been found in sheets of midden under the ground; Harvard had one of the first printing presses in the New World. “Roof tiles, glass and lead from leaded windows, and domestic rubbish, including pottery, glass bottles, a pipe stem, and animal bones, seem to date to around the time that the Old College and Indian College were dismantled at the end of the 17th century,” The Times reports. “One intriguing find was a fragment from an Iberian maiolica vessel, which ‘raises questions of illicit trade, as British colonists’ trade with countries other than England was heavily restricted,’” according to Christina Hodge, director of the archeology project. —S.C.