Stuart Weitzman School of Design

Structures of the future

The Polyhedral Structures Laboratory, a research group based out of PennDesign, is showcasing an exhibit at the Pennovation Center that teases their work on designs with wide-reaching implications for construction.

Brandon K. Baker

Floating art installation brings Schuylkill River history to life

Jacob Rivkin, an artist-in-residence for the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities and an instructor in the School of Design, will present a public art installation on the Schuylkill River called “Floating Archives,” starting this weekend. (Video)

Katherine Unger Baillie

Preserving Philadelphia’s Society Hill

The histories of more than 1,500 properties in a storied Philadelphia neighborhood are now accessible on the new website, “Preserving Society Hill.” Working with digital-humanities specialists in the Price Lab and the Libraries, PennDesign’s Francesca Ammon created an interactive map to document this innovative case study in urban renewal.

Louisa Shepard , Louisa Shepard

Bringing reliable power to all of India

Doing so requires a just and sustainable energy transition and common but differentiated responsibilities among nations to mitigate effects of energy systems on climate change.

Michele W. Berger, Lindsey Samahon

Philly as lab, classroom, and collaborator

Philadelphia’s rich history and forward momentum make it ripe for scientific inquiry for a number of Penn schools and departments, from urban and population studies to medicine and anthropology.

Michele W. Berger



In the News


Inside Climate News

As California pushes increased ethanol use, experts sound the alarm on environmental impacts

Danny Cullenward of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design says that the negative impacts of biofuels on land are difficult to overstate.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Decoding Trump’s climate priorities—or lack thereof

In an opinion essay, Sanya Carley of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the Weitzman School of Design examines the implications and possibilities of Donald Trump’s energy and climate agenda.

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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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