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Stuart Weitzman School of Design

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Structures of the future
Glass Bridge

A model of an ultra-transparent bridge made of glass sheets, with a structure of polyhedral cells as hollow glass blocks. Use of materials and resources is minimized in the design, which was developed with the use of 3-D graphic statics.

Structures of the future

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, a research group based out of PennDesign, is showcasing an exhibit at the Pennovation Center that teases their work on designs with wide-reaching implications for construction.
PennDesign studios tackle disaster recovery planning in Puerto Rico
PR

PennDesign studios tackle disaster recovery planning in Puerto Rico

To begin planning hurricane disaster recovery for Puerto Rico, PennDesign faculty members recognize that the disaster began unfolding long before hurricanes Irma and Maria made landfall.

Penn Today Staff

PennDesign preservationists complete digital documentation of PA.’s slatelands
Matero_Hinchman

John Hinchman and Frank Matero (Photo courtesy of PennDesign)

PennDesign preservationists complete digital documentation of PA.’s slatelands

Frank Matero and John Hinchman’s website detailing the industrial landscape of the Pennsylvania Slate Belt, a 22-square-mile expanse of quarries, towns, transportation networks, and industrial wreckage, serves as a historical preservation tool via digital humanities.

Penn Today Staff

Through the Knight grant, a new vision for public art
AR Monument Lab

Marisa Williamson, Sweet Chariot, a 2017 augmented reality project from Monument Lab. (Steve Weinik/Mural Arts Philadelphia)

Through the Knight grant, a new vision for public art

Members of PennDesign, Penn Libraries, and the Sachs Program for Arts Innovation are curating a project to reimagine art and new digital technology.
Floating art installation brings Schuylkill River history to life
Floating Archives

On three Saturday evenings in September, Jacob Rivkin, an artist-in-residence with the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities, will be floating on the Schuylkill River, displaying hand-drawn animations on a screen suspended between two canoes. His work reflects past and present narratives about the waterway. (Photo: Aidan Un)

Floating art installation brings Schuylkill River history to life

Jacob Rivkin, an artist-in-residence for the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities and an instructor in the School of Design, will present a public art installation on the Schuylkill River called “Floating Archives,” starting this weekend. (Video)

Katherine Unger Baillie

Kroiz exhibit illuminates the abstract in modern Japanese architecture 
Critical Abstraction Japan Exhibit

Reiyukai Shakaden Temple, Tokyo, by Takenaka Corp. Architects; photo by Vincent D. Feldman, 2008. Pictured in the glass case: Bruno Taut’s 1934-illustrated “Thoughts on the Visit to Katsura.”

Kroiz exhibit illuminates the abstract in modern Japanese architecture 

“Critical Abstractions: Modern Architecture in Japan, 1868-2018,” on display through Sept. 24, challenges prevailing ideas on the reasons behind the international appeal of modern architecture made in Japan.
Preserving Philadelphia’s Society Hill
Penn School of Design professor Francesca Ammon

Francesca Russello Ammon, a PennDesign assistant professor of city and regional planning, focused on Philadelphia's Society Hill neighborhood for her research on historic preservation. (Photo by Eric Sucar, University of Pennsylvania Communications)

Preserving Philadelphia’s Society Hill

The histories of more than 1,500 properties in a storied Philadelphia neighborhood are now accessible on the new website, “Preserving Society Hill.” Working with digital-humanities specialists in the Price Lab and the Libraries, PennDesign’s Francesca Ammon created an interactive map to document this innovative case study in urban renewal.
Bringing reliable power to all of India
Bringing reliable, sustainable power to India

Source: Flickr user DFID

Bringing reliable power to all of India

Doing so requires a just and sustainable energy transition and common but differentiated responsibilities among nations to mitigate effects of energy systems on climate change.

Michele W. Berger , Lindsey Samahon

Philly as lab, classroom, and collaborator
Sayre Health Clinic

Philly as lab, classroom, and collaborator

Philadelphia’s rich history and forward momentum make it ripe for scientific inquiry for a number of Penn schools and departments, from urban and population studies to medicine and anthropology.

Michele W. Berger