Skip to Content Skip to Content

Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Visit the School's Site
Weitzman student and alum designate Penn’s oldest property to Philadelphia Historic Register

Weitzman student and alum designate Penn’s oldest property to Philadelphia Historic Register

The building that houses Penn’s Greenfield Intercultural Center has been listed on the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places, thanks to a nomination authored by Ke-An Chiang, a graduate student at Penn’s Weitzman School. Built circa 1845, the Reed-Hubley Residence, a 3-story villa at 3708-12 Chestnut Street, is believed to be the oldest building owned by Penn, outside of Hospital properties, which served several families as a suburban villa before being acquired by the University in 1982.

Weitzman and Netter Center to tackle urban heat in West Philadelphia

Weitzman and Netter Center to tackle urban heat in West Philadelphia

A collaboration between the Thermal Architecture Lab at Penn’s Weitzman School of Design, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, and the Annenberg School has been awarded an Environmental Protection Agency Thriving Communities Grant for $137,000 to work with William L. Sayre High School, a University-Assisted Community School, on measurement of urban heat and solution design.

Changing neighborhoods, changing times
Lance Freeman stands with hands in pockets outside of a building.

Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor Lance Freeman, of the Weitzman School of Design and the School of Arts & Sciences, studies how people interact with the built environment. 

nocred

Changing neighborhoods, changing times

Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor Lance Freeman of the Weitzman School of Design and School of Arts & Sciences studies how people interact with the built environment.

Kristina García

Combining AI and artmaking for youth well-being
Eileen Feng leans against a pole.

Eileen Feng, a graduate student in the Integrated Product Design, inside Tangen Hall. 

nocred

Combining AI and artmaking for youth well-being

Through a community-led partnership project, graduate student Eileen Feng and an interdisciplinary, cross-school team are working with local youth to tailor an AI-supported platform for healing through creative arts.
Celebrating the architectural legacy of Penn’s first Black architecture graduate
Peter Cook and J. Larry Jameson in front of a portrait of Julian Abele.

Peter Cook, a descendant of Julian Abele, and Interim Penn President J. Larry Jameson next to a newly unveiled framed portrait of Julian Abele that decorates Eisenlohr Hall. 

nocred

Celebrating the architectural legacy of Penn’s first Black architecture graduate

At a gathering at Eisenlohr Hall, a portrait of renowned architect Julian Abele and a series of his paintings were unveiled, formally recognizing his design contributions to one of campus’ iconic structures.
Building bridges: A feat of engineering and artistry
The Glass Bridge

Architect Masoud Akbarzadeh and research assistant Boyu Xiao of the Weitzman School of Design, along with collaborators including Yao Lu of Jefferson University, defied conventional engineering by constructing a 30-foot-long bridge entirely from 16 millimeter hollow glass units. Their effort is now showcased at the Corning Museum of Glass.

(Image: Courtesy of the Corning Museum of Glass)

Building bridges: A feat of engineering and artistry

At the Corning Museum of Glass, professor of architecture Masoud Akbarzadeh and his team have turned fragility into strength with a 30-foot-long span of shimmering glass, blending ancient wisdom with cutting-edge design to redefine the future of structural engineering and architecture.
Balancing renewable energy development and land protection
Jonathan Thompson, Andrew M. Hoffman, and Grace Wu on stage.

University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Dean Andrew M. Hoffman, center, moderated a discussion with Jonathan Thompson and Grace Wu on tradeoffs in land use for renewable energy.

(Image: Ashley Hinton/Penn Vet)

Balancing renewable energy development and land protection

In an Energy Week event, Grace Wu and Jonathan Thompson provided perspectives on tradeoffs in land use from their work in California and Massachusetts.
A rare on-campus assignment for preservation students holds ‘small revelations’
A historic black and white photo of Penn’s Weitzman Hall.

One of the photographs of Weitzman Hall made by historic preservation student Kate Whitney-Schubb and submitted to the Library of Congress for the Historic American Buildings Survey.

(Image: Courtesy of Weitzman News)

A rare on-campus assignment for preservation students holds ‘small revelations’

Weitzman historical preservation students were able to use a campus building slated to be altered for its class focus, which changed the stakes of the project and the approach students took to documenting the historic building.

From the Weitzman School of Design

Turning the desert into an oasis
People gather around a large map placed on the floor.

In Senegal, the ambitious Dakar Greenbelt project seeks to create an extensive network of ecological infrastructure in and around the city to sustainably address environmental concerns and enhance urban life. With support from David Gouverneur and Ellen Neises, Ph.D. candidate Rob Levinthal in the Weitzman School of Design led two courses that included a field trip to Dakar, that culminated in students presenting their visions for parts of the Greenbelt.

(Image: Courtesy of Chaowu Li)

Turning the desert into an oasis

Students from the Weitzman School of Design journeyed to Senegal to help with a massive ecological and infrastructural greening effort as part of their coursework. The Dakar Greenbelt aims to combat desertification and promote sustainable urban growth.