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Keepers of the cultural memory
An old and large book upside down on a table, being held by two sets of hands, one gloved, the other not. There are boxes and other materials all around.

Workers at the rare manuscripts and old printed books department of the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum store them in cardboard boxes to reduce the risk of damage in the event of an attack in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Friday, March 4, 2022. (Image: AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

AP Photo/Bernat Armangue

Keepers of the cultural memory

In wartime, saving human lives is a top priority. But secondary considerations often include preserving the cultural heritage also under siege. Penn experts offer their thoughts as the situation in Ukraine continues to unfold.

Michele W. Berger

Q&A with David Leatherbarrow, professor emeritus of architecture
Picture of professor Leatherbarrow.

David Leatherbarrow. (Image: Courtesy of The Weitzman School)

Q&A with David Leatherbarrow, professor emeritus of architecture

Over the last 38 years, Leatherbarrow has produced a vast body of written work on the history and theory of architecture and gardens. He says Philadelphia is the best city to study architecture.

From the Weitzman School of Design

A charter bus to Chinatown
An image of the "Friendship Gate," with people walking by on a winter day

The iconic “Frienship Gate” at 10th and Arch St. marks the entrance to Philadelphia’s historic Chinatown.

A charter bus to Chinatown

Launched in 2021 by a student-led initiative, the biweekly bus service connects students with local businesses in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

Kristina Linnea García

How a class of ‘brilliant graduates’ shaped modern Chinese architecture
chinese drawing architecture

(Homepage image) A protestant church designed by Tung Chuin in 1928 and awarded the Beaux Arts Institute of Design 1st place medal. This rendering and the works of more than 20 architecture student alumni from China are currently on display as part of the “Building in China” exhibition. (Image: Ming Tong)

How a class of ‘brilliant graduates’ shaped modern Chinese architecture

The ‘Building in China’ exhibition showcases the work of the ‘first generation’ of Penn architecture alumni from China and how striking a balance between modern and traditional continues to shape the country’s expression of its national identity.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change
Aerial view of a flooded Texas town.

Columbus, Texas, was one small town that experienced devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Allison Lassiter’s research focuses on coastal communities from New Jersey to Texas. (Image: Weitzman News)

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change

Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning Allison Lassiter researches unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change.

From the Weitzman School of Design

Four takeaways from the IPCC’s report on climate adaptation and vulnerability
Person in SCUBA fear floating over bleached coral reefs.

Evidence of coral reef bleaching in a seabed off Hachijo-jima Island in Tokyo, November 2020. The latest report from the IPCC focuses on how climate change is affecting coral reefs like this and other biodiversity, as well as people and places. (Image: The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images)

Four takeaways from the IPCC’s report on climate adaptation and vulnerability

The assessment gets explicit about the effect of climate change on people, places, and ecosystems. Experts from Penn weigh in on what it means.

Michele W. Berger

Robert Gerard Pietrusko on landscape design, spatial modeling, and conspiracy theories
Person standing in front of two giant panels of film projected on the wall of NASA footage of a storm on planet Earth.

Still from In Plain Sight, a geospatial documentary that critiques the NASA “night lights” dataset and reveals locations with lights and no people, and locations with populations living in the dark. (Image: Weitzman News)

Robert Gerard Pietrusko on landscape design, spatial modeling, and conspiracy theories

Robert Gerard Pietrusko joined the standing faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture as an associate professor, and teaches a landscape architecture studio called Conspiracy as Method, which looks at a number of natural disasters that have been attributed to climate change.

From the Weitzman School of Design

Winka Dubbeldam on designing the 2022 Asian Games Park
Rendering of a summer Olympic Park in China.

Archi-Tectonics’ design transforms a once-barren site in one of China’s fastest growing cities into a sustainable, ecologically conscious public space. (Image: Courtesy Archi-Tectonics)

Winka Dubbeldam on designing the 2022 Asian Games Park

Archi-Tectonics, the New York-based firm founded by Miller Professor and Chair of Architecture Winka Dubbeldam, was selected to design an “eco-park,” stadiums, and a pedestrian mall for the 2022 Asian Games.

From the Weitzman School of Design

Studying the past through a modern-day lens
Lynn Meskell standing in front of a glass display case at the Penn Museum.

Lynn Meskell is the Richard D. Green Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor in the Department of Anthropology in the School of Arts & Sciences, a professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning and the graduate program in Historic Preservation in the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, and a curator in the Middle East and Asia sections at the Penn Museum.

(Image: Eric Sucar)

Studying the past through a modern-day lens

In a Q & A, archaeologist and PIK Professor Lynn Meskell discusses her background, the subjects that interest her—from espionage to World Heritage sites—and collaborations that have organically arisen at Penn despite the pandemic and a mostly remote first year.

Michele W. Berger