Design | Penn Today

A conversation about ‘Akon City’ and speculative urbanization

Christopher Marcinkoski of the Weitzman School of Design unpacks—through the lens of speculative urbanization—the self-described ‘futuristic’ city to be built in Senegal, led by musician and philanthropist Akon.

Philadelphia rowhouse roofs with solar panels in foreground and city skyline in background.

Architecture’s William Braham on energy, carbon, and buildings for the future

For Climate Week 2020, The Weitzman School speaks with Braham about Penn’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, and what he’s learned about the build environment and its carbon footprint over time.

Gehry-designed Eisenhower Memorial unveiled after 20 years—during a fraught moment

David Eisenhower of the Annenberg School for Communication spoke about a new memorial to his grandfather, President Dwight D. Eisenhower. “I think memorialization is a process that is renewed,” he said. “So, when you dedicate the memorial, I think that you are investing or gambling, in a sense, on the future, that the message that a memorial conveys will have a kind of timeless quality to it.”

The new monuments that America needs

Paul Farber and Ken Lum of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and Philadelphia’s Monument Lab spoke about the dismantling of problematic statues and the process of democratically designing new ones. People have been taught to interpret statues “as unitary and their message as unified, rooted in consensus, as opposed to rooted in a subjective decision that is only a reflection of a segment of the community that had power,” said Lum.

Lincoln Memorial illuminated at dusk overlooking the Potomac River.

Weitzman team takes on preservation work at Lincoln Memorial

PennPraxis is continuing its partnership with the National Park Service on a cultural inventory and landscape project at the Lincoln Memorial, its most high-profile project to date.

a design of a public space in an urban area, marked with summer art class, grafitti wall, and submission and a sign over the city street that says Bushwick Summer Block Party

First-of-its-kind virtual summer design studio for high school students

In a unique partnership, Penn Praxis Design fellows led Fresh Air Everywhere, an intensive seven-week program providing teens with an introduction to design and architecture.

How to put up monuments that truly recon with American History

Paul Farber of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design and Center for Public Art and Space visiting scholar Sue Mobley spoke about President Trump’s proposed National Garden of American Heroes and proposed a new democratic process for creating monuments. “History doesn’t fit well in statues,” said Mobley. “Movements don’t fit well in summaries; they’re ongoing.”

Maps, pandemics, and reckoning with history

Geospatial data has long been an important tool for scientists and scholars, but now, as society grapples with both coronavirus and a history of systemic racism, can maps help chart a path toward a brighter future?

designs for drive thru and walk up testing sites in pastel colors

Expressions of color, comfort, and creativity in the fight against COVID-19

With many summer internships disrupted by the pandemic, the Architecture Department at Penn partnered with Surface magazine to create the Summer School at Penn, a month-long virtual lecture series and design competition.

Offsetting carbon emissions, one ton at a time

Carbon offsets are a small but meaningful market in its mission to contribute to greenhouse gas reducing industries and practices in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.

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