Penn is already a winner in the 2012 Olympics, with School of Design professor James Corner leading a team of architects chosen to develop public spaces in London Olympic Park South. Corner, chairman of the Landscape Architecture Department, and his New York-based firm, James Corner Field Operations, was selected from a pool of 100 worldwide candidates to develop an area designed to continue attracting visitors long after the Olympic games.

Design teams were asked to develop creative ways to develop a visitors’ center, a playground, and a 50-acre urban landscape that links the Olympic stadium, the aquatics center, and the recently completed landmark observation tower called the ArcelorMittal Orbit. The development will be the future site of concerts, public celebrations, and tourism.