The University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees has approved the design development for converting a former DuPont laboratory and research warehouse into a seminal component of a new campus hub for entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators, according to ArchDaily.
The three-story, 58,000-sf Pennovation Center, as it’s being called, will be at the heart of Pennovation Works, a blend of offices, labs, and production spaces situated within 23 acres along the Schuykill River and adjacent to the university’s main campus in Philadelphia.
The $37.5 million first phase includes investment for the Pennovation Center, site landscaping, infrastructure improvements, signage and branding. The center is scheduled to open in the summer of 2016.
“The Pennovation Center design creates a truly iconic landmark for Penn’s innovation ecosystem and a dynamic hub for Penn’s culture of innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration,” says Amy Gutmann, Penn’s President.
She adds that the center would bring the University’s eminent researchers, scientists, and extraordinary students together with the private sector to “foster creative exploration, entrepreneurship and new alliances and to generate economic development for the region.”
The Building Team on this project includes HWKN as its design architect, KSS Architects (architect of record), Land Collective (landscape architect), Bruce Mau Design (design consultant), Ballinger (structural and MEP engineer), Focus (lighting consultant), and Atelier Ten (sustainability consultant).
Pennovation Center “creates a diverse mix of environments suitable for privacy, collaboration, socialization and the business side of growing a company,” says HWKN Principal Matthias Hollwich.
Two floors of the Pennovation Center are designed to support individual entrepreneurs and startups from the university and the private sector seeking affordable and flexible office space. The center will host workshops, programs, and professional-development resources for the community. These floors will include wet and dry labs with shared lab-support equipment, meeting rooms and social areas.
The Penn Engineering Field Research Center will occupy the third floor, integrating computer science and electrical, mechanical and systems engineering. (Penn Engineering is expected to open its lab in this building in the fall of 2015.)
The design plans show a northern façade of the center that bursts from the grid of the repurposed former industrial warehouse with illuminated angular panes of glass. A series of garage doors on the eastern façade opens directly to studio spaces for some of the teams that will work in the building. The interior design includes a central bleacher space, which organizes an open environment for events and a place for people to network and share ideas.
Related Stories
Building Owners | Aug 23, 2023
Charles Pankow Foundation releases free project delivery selection tool for building owners, developers, and project teams
Building owners and project teams can use the new Building Owner Assessment Tool (BOAT) to better understand how an owner's decision-making profile impacts outcomes for different project delivery methods.
Transportation & Parking Facilities | Aug 23, 2023
California parking garage features wind-activated moving mural
A massive, colorful, moving mural creatively conceals a newly opened parking garage for a global technology company in Mountain View, Calif.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Higher Education | Aug 22, 2023
How boldly uniting divergent disciplines boosts students’ career viability
CannonDesign's Charles Smith and Patricia Bou argue that spaces designed for interdisciplinary learning will help fuel a strong, resilient generation of students in an ever-changing economy.
Apartments | Aug 22, 2023
Key takeaways from RCLCO's 2023 apartment renter preferences study
Gregg Logan, Managing Director of real estate consulting firm RCLCO, reveals the highlights of RCLCO's new research study, “2023 Rental Consumer Preferences Report.” Logan speaks with BD+C's Robert Cassidy.
Shopping Centers | Aug 22, 2023
The mall of the future
There are three critical aspects of mall design that, through evolution, have proven to be instrumental in the staying power of a retail destination: parking, planning, and customer experience. This are crucial to the mall of the future.
Affordable Housing | Aug 21, 2023
Essential housing: What’s in a name?
For many in our communities, rising rents and increased demand for housing means they are only one paycheck away from being unhoused. It’s time to stop thinking of affordable housing as a handout and start calling it what it is: Essential Housing.
Healthcare Facilities | Aug 21, 2023
Sutter Health’s new surgical care center finishes three months early, $3 million under budget
Sutter Health’s Samaritan Court Ambulatory Care and Surgery Center (Samaritan Court), a three-story, 69,000 sf medical office building, was recently completed three months early and $3 million under budget, according to general contractor Skanska.