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Louisa Shepard
Senior News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu
In the past decade, Philadelphia’s building boom has been accompanied by a string of demolitions touching almost every corner of the city, and resulting in the loss of everything from iconic churches to vernacular row houses. But even as a growing number of Philadelphians lament these losses, advocates for historic preservation have sometimes struggled to make a case for keeping Philadelphia’s built fabric intact.
Thanks in large part to the foundation Ian McHarg built, the Stuart Weitzman School of Design Landscape Architecture Department has led the field for decades. Here’s how it’s staying relevant as the importance for the profession—one that is central to solving some of the world’s greatest challenges—grows.
StairWELL, a Penn Sustainability Green Fund project, completed a yearlong pilot project last July that aimed to test how effective a stairwell makeover could be in increasing physical activity and reducing energy costs.
The new name will be the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design.
The Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at the School of Design has entered into a collaborative research agreement with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to assist in activities leading to the study and preservation of Taliesin and Taliesin West.
A balance of science and critical thinking, plus reverence for the artist’s work and devotion to her space, makes the conservation assessment by a PennDesign team especially meaningful.
Housing the majority of the global population, cities have come to define and shape the overarching challenges of the 21st century. The speed and scale of their development is unprecedented, raising complex questions about how to address the changes they bring to communities around the world.
Urban designers joined with architects, engineers, city planners, sociologists, and other experts to share strategies for adapting to rising sea levels, fiercer storms, and sinking shorelines, coinciding with the launch of the Certificate in Urban Resilience at the School of Design.
As Amtrak decides whether to keep the split-flap sign at 30th Street Station, PennDesign professors lay out research-based and historical considerations.
Planning chief and multiple alumnus Mark Kocent is named University Architect in the Division of Facilities and Real Estate.
Louisa Shepard
Senior News Officer
lshepard@upenn.edu
A study by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design found that Pennsylvania would benefit overall from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
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In an Op-Ed, graduate student Jonathan Zisk of the Weitzman School of Design says that SEPTA should green-light the Bus Revolution project and allow the rollout of transformative bus service across the Philadelphia region.
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Thomas Daniels of the Weitzman School of Design says that generating energy from wind and solar requires land just like coal, oil, and natural gas, though the necessary acreage is larger.
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Rashida Ng of the Weitzman School of Design and colleagues attended the Save Chinatown Coalition to propose different ideas besides the 76ers arena for Philadelphia’s Fashion District.
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In a Q&A, Vincent Reina of the Weitzman School of Design discusses a new White House initiative to incentivize commercial-to-residential conversion projects, especially as the office market continues to struggle.
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A review examines the group show “Movables” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, including pieces by Ken Lum of the Weitzman School of Design.
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