PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Pennsylvania has selected the architectural design firm Weiss/Manfredi along with M+W Zander, an engineering and construction firm that specializes in projects with a scientific focus, to design the Krishna P. Singh Center for Nanotechnology.

This 100,000-square-foot facility will house research that focuses on the molecular level in the areas of engineering, medicine and the health sciences. It is made possible, in part, through a $20 million gift from Krishna Singh, a Penn alumnus who is the founder, president and chief executive officer of the energy-technology company Holtec International in Marlton, N.J.

“We’re looking for design that is forward-looking and built with sustainable principles, but, more important, one that clearly articulates its purpose while meeting its programmatic needs,” Eduardo Glandt, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said. “The Singh Center will serve not only Penn but the entire Philadelphia region as a crossroads of multi-disciplinary fundamental and translational research, education and innovation.”

This new building, to be constructed along the 3200 block of Walnut Street on the site of a parking lot, is another project of Penn Connects –- A Vision For the Future, the University’s 30-year master plan published in 2006.

Additional information about Penn Connects and the Singh Center is available at www.pennconnects.upenn.edu.