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Design

The future of forests
Image of a river with thickly forested banks. Ducks are on the rocky shoreline.

Faced with an onslaught of changes—heat, drought, fire, flood, pests, and disease—forests are under stress.

(Image: photo by Tommy Kwak on Unsplash)

The future of forests

Faced with an onslaught of changes—heat, drought, fire, flood, pests, and disease—forests are under stress.

Kristina García

Climate resilience, economic competitiveness, and equity at the megaregional level
portraits of fritz steiner and bob yaro alongside the cover of their book with a map of the united states and the title megaregions and america's future

In a Q&A about their new book “Megaregions and America’s Future,” Dean Frederick Steiner (left) and Emeritus Professor of Practice Robert Yaro of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design discuss how megaregions in the U.S. can address complex challenges.

Climate resilience, economic competitiveness, and equity at the megaregional level

In “Megaregions and America’s Future,” Emeritus Professor of Practice Robert Yaro and Dean Frederick Steiner discuss how megaregions in the U.S. can address complex challenges.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Q&A with Rashida Ng, Presidential Associate Professor of Architecture
Lacey Rivera, Rashida Ng, and Sonia Shah talking and walking outside.

Rashida Ng talks with Lacey Rivera (left) and Sonia Shah (right) who are School of Arts and Sciences students taking her seminar on racism and climate change. (Image: Weitzman News)

Q&A with Rashida Ng, Presidential Associate Professor of Architecture

In July, Ng will become chair of the undergraduate architecture program, an opportunity to teach students the responsibilities of architects to the environment and then the social conditions of the world.

From the Weitzman School of Design

Tangen Hall brings together aspiring entrepreneurs across the University
students working in tangen hall lab

Penn students working on the first floor of Tangen Hall. The first floor of the building is home to three of the five innovation spaces operated by Penn Engineering, which are intended to teach students to use physical tools to prototype and test their ideas. 

Tangen Hall brings together aspiring entrepreneurs across the University

At seven stories and 68,000 square feet, the Wharton-led Tangen is the largest student entrepreneurship hub in the world.

Dee Patel

Q&A with David Leatherbarrow, professor emeritus of architecture
Picture of professor Leatherbarrow.

David Leatherbarrow. (Image: Courtesy of The Weitzman School)

Q&A with David Leatherbarrow, professor emeritus of architecture

Over the last 38 years, Leatherbarrow has produced a vast body of written work on the history and theory of architecture and gardens. He says Philadelphia is the best city to study architecture.

From the Weitzman School of Design

A charter bus to Chinatown
An image of the "Friendship Gate," with people walking by on a winter day

The iconic “Frienship Gate” at 10th and Arch St. marks the entrance to Philadelphia’s historic Chinatown.

A charter bus to Chinatown

Launched in 2021 by a student-led initiative, the biweekly bus service connects students with local businesses in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

Kristina García

How a class of ‘brilliant graduates’ shaped modern Chinese architecture
chinese drawing architecture

(Homepage image) A protestant church designed by Tung Chuin in 1928 and awarded the Beaux Arts Institute of Design 1st place medal. This rendering and the works of more than 20 architecture student alumni from China are currently on display as part of the “Building in China” exhibition. (Image: Ming Tong)

How a class of ‘brilliant graduates’ shaped modern Chinese architecture

The ‘Building in China’ exhibition showcases the work of the ‘first generation’ of Penn architecture alumni from China and how striking a balance between modern and traditional continues to shape the country’s expression of its national identity.

Erica K. Brockmeier

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change
Aerial view of a flooded Texas town.

Columbus, Texas, was one small town that experienced devastating floods from Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Allison Lassiter’s research focuses on coastal communities from New Jersey to Texas. (Image: Weitzman News)

Unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change

Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning Allison Lassiter researches unlocking the potential of ‘smart’ water in responding to climate change.

From the Weitzman School of Design

Robert Gerard Pietrusko on landscape design, spatial modeling, and conspiracy theories
Person standing in front of two giant panels of film projected on the wall of NASA footage of a storm on planet Earth.

Still from In Plain Sight, a geospatial documentary that critiques the NASA “night lights” dataset and reveals locations with lights and no people, and locations with populations living in the dark. (Image: Weitzman News)

Robert Gerard Pietrusko on landscape design, spatial modeling, and conspiracy theories

Robert Gerard Pietrusko joined the standing faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture as an associate professor, and teaches a landscape architecture studio called Conspiracy as Method, which looks at a number of natural disasters that have been attributed to climate change.

From the Weitzman School of Design