Empowering high school youth through immersive art mentorship Fourth-year students Ejun Mary Hong and Jack Nicholas Roney were awarded a 2025 President’s Engagement Prize to pursue their PIXEL project. The pair will collaborate to bring art mentorship, creative skill-building, and industry networking opportunities to under-resourced high school students in the greater Philadelphia area.nocred Empowering high school youth through immersive art mentorship Penn fourth-years Ejun Mary Hong and Jack Nicholas Roney will use a President’s Engagement Prize to expand their existing initiative dedicated to connecting under-resourced high school students in Philadelphia with art mentorship, creative skill-building, and industry networking opportunities. 6 min. read
Concrete panels as teaching tools, materials testing, and outdoor sculptures Architect Richard Garber created and teaches the graduate course Matter Making and Testing: Designing with Next Generation Precast Concrete.nocred Concrete panels as teaching tools, materials testing, and outdoor sculptures On view outside the Weitzman School of Design are three freestanding concrete panels designed and made by students in a unique graduate seminar that partners with a local concrete-fabrication plant 5 min. read
After $174M building debuts, University of Pennsylvania readies next major project Philadelphia Business Journal After $174M building debuts, University of Pennsylvania readies next major project With the completion of the $173.5 million Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology, Penn is preparing to redevelop the 250,000-square-foot Rittenhouse Laboratory next door, featuring remarks from University Architect Mark Kocent. An artist’s immersion into neuroaesthetics Psychology Today An artist’s immersion into neuroaesthetics Judith Schaechter recounts her experience working on a stained-glass project as artist-in-residence at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, helmed by Anjan Chatterjee of the Perelman School of Medicine. Celebrating the architectural legacy of Penn’s first Black architecture graduate 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 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. Turning the desert into an oasis 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. Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability Architect and professor of practice of historic preservation at the Weitzman School Jules Dingle.nocred Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability The Philadelphia architect and professor of practice in historic preservation joined the Weitzman School in the fall. Jessica Varner on the long arc of built environment and its materials nocred Jessica Varner on the long arc of built environment and its materials Varner, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at the Weitzman School, explores the intersections between architectural, environmental, and chemical history. Why do we keep developing in climate disaster zones? 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. Load More
An artist’s immersion into neuroaesthetics Psychology Today An artist’s immersion into neuroaesthetics Judith Schaechter recounts her experience working on a stained-glass project as artist-in-residence at the Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, helmed by Anjan Chatterjee of the Perelman School of Medicine. Celebrating the architectural legacy of Penn’s first Black architecture graduate 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 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. Turning the desert into an oasis 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. Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability Architect and professor of practice of historic preservation at the Weitzman School Jules Dingle.nocred Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability The Philadelphia architect and professor of practice in historic preservation joined the Weitzman School in the fall. Jessica Varner on the long arc of built environment and its materials nocred Jessica Varner on the long arc of built environment and its materials Varner, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at the Weitzman School, explores the intersections between architectural, environmental, and chemical history. Why do we keep developing in climate disaster zones? 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. Load More
Celebrating the architectural legacy of Penn’s first Black architecture graduate 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 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.
Turning the desert into an oasis 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.
Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability Architect and professor of practice of historic preservation at the Weitzman School Jules Dingle.nocred Weitzman’s Jules Dingle on social and environmental sustainability The Philadelphia architect and professor of practice in historic preservation joined the Weitzman School in the fall.
Jessica Varner on the long arc of built environment and its materials nocred Jessica Varner on the long arc of built environment and its materials Varner, an assistant professor of landscape architecture at the Weitzman School, explores the intersections between architectural, environmental, and chemical history.
Why do we keep developing in climate disaster zones? 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.