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What’s That? The Pyramid at HUP
A red pyramid stands in a courtyard at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

The pyramid in Miller Plaza is often mistaken for a large art installation but instead holds equipment for the Devon MRI Building.

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  • What’s That

    • What’s That? The Pyramid at HUP

    Turning down a hallway at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania reveals a giant red pyramid. It looks like it’s art, but it’s medicine.

    2 min. read

    At the Venice Biennale, a convergence of innovations in materials, structures, and landscapes
    Robert Gerard Pietrusko’a installation ”A Satellite Symphony.”

    Robert Gerard Pietrusko collaborated on the installation ”A Satellite Symphony,” which explores how satellites frame how we understand the Earth itself; the viewing structure is constructed from trees from the Veneto region downed by storms.

    (Image: Gaia Cambiaggi / Studio Campo)

    At the Venice Biennale, a convergence of innovations in materials, structures, and landscapes

    Several Weitzman School of Design faculty and students will exhibit at the Venice Biennale’s 19th International Architecture Exhibition.

    From the Weitzman School of Design

    3 min. read

    For dual architecture degree candidate Kelvin Vu, design begins with the body
    Kelvin Vu performing a dance move.

    Image: Kait Privitera

    For dual architecture degree candidate Kelvin Vu, design begins with the body

    Master of architecture and master of landscape architecture candidate Kelvin Vu, who was a professional dancer before coming to Weitzman, says “dance and landscape design are about change, flux, and dynamism.”

    From the Weitzman School of Design

    2 min. read

    Empowering high school youth through immersive art mentorship
    Fourth-years 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.

    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.

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    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
    Richard Garber standing outside in front of concrete panel

    Architect Richard Garber created and teaches the graduate course Matter Making and Testing: Designing with Next Generation Precast Concrete.

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    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

    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. 

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    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.

    9 min. read