11/15
Stuart Weitzman School of Design
Expert voices 2019: Why cities?
Expert voices 2019: Why cities?
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.
Designing with resilience to prepare for a changing world
Designing with resilience to prepare for a changing 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.
Iconic indeed, will Amtrak’s split-flap sign remain?
Iconic indeed, will Amtrak’s split-flap sign remain?
As Amtrak decides whether to keep the split-flap sign at 30th Street Station, PennDesign professors lay out research-based and historical considerations.
Cutting and folding toward innovations in medicine, design, and more
Cutting and folding toward innovations in medicine, design, and more
Artist-in-residence Mike Tanis and physicist Randall Kamien use kirigami, literally “cut paper,” to better grasp scientific concepts and to solve real-world challenges.
How tactical preservation can save endangered buildings in Philly and Detroit
How tactical preservation can save endangered buildings in Philly and Detroit
PennDesign studios are beginning a three-year project called Detroit/Philadelphia Preservation Exchange, investigating preservation issues in distressed neighborhoods in the two cities.
Schwarzman Scholarships announced
Schwarzman Scholarships announced
Two seniors and one graduate student will receive one year of graduate study in global affairs at China’s Tsinghua University.
In this photography class, students become curators—at the Barnes
In this photography class, students become curators—at the Barnes
This year’s Spiegel-Wilks Curatorial Seminar has taken students inside the world of the Barnes Foundation, where they learn about the history of photography and get a hands-on look at museum operations.
New fellowship offers undergrads unfiltered, frank access to city leaders
New fellowship offers undergrads unfiltered, frank access to city leaders
Through the program, offered by the Penn Institute for Urban Research, 14 students will meet with a former Philadelphia mayor, Philly’s current director of planning and development, and more.
Monitoring heritage sites with drones and remote sensors
Monitoring heritage sites with drones and remote sensors
The Center for Architectural Conservation has been observing adobe ruins for three years as a harbinger for climate change. Any damage that the changing climate will do to exposed structures, it will do it to adobe first.
Robert Drake’s super sounds of the ’80s at the ICA
Robert Drake’s super sounds of the ’80s at the ICA
The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, PennDesign, and the Institute of Contemporary Art collaborate to throw the “Paint the Dance Floor” evening party at the ICA.
In the News
Dwell
Why do we keep developing in climate disaster zones?
Jessica Varner of the Weitzman School of Design says that the federal buyout timeline for homes destroyed by natural disasters opens the door to predatory buyers. William “Billy” Fleming of Weitzman says that adaptation requires various types of interventions that deal with the urgent effects of climate change.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Saving Philly’s bats, one DIY condo at a time
The Wildlife Futures Program at the School of Veterinary Medicine has facilitated the design and construction of wooden bat boxes to be installed in campus parks, with remarks from Julie Ellis. The project is the brainchild of Penn undergraduate Nick Tanner.
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The Wall Street Journal
How can we remove carbon from the air? Here are a few ideas
Jennifer Wilcox of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the carbon-removal potential of forestation can’t always be reliably measured in terms of how much removal and for how long.
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Associated Press
California air regulators approve changes to climate program that could raise gas prices
Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that many things being credited in California’s new climate program don’t help the climate.
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
Historic Longwood Gardens in Chester County readies for its next modern chapter
Marion Weiss of the Weitzman School of Design has helped spearhead the renovation of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
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