Design | Penn Today

Stewards of the University collection

Planning chief and multiple alumnus Mark Kocent is named University Architect in the Division of Facilities and Real Estate.

Three reasons why Philadelphia won’t follow Minneapolis’s ban on single-family zoning

Vincent Reina of the School of Design said that changing Philadelphia zoning laws to allow for greater density could help the region but isn’t a cure-all. Still, he said, “it can ensure a lot of middle-income housing in neighborhoods that are becoming more costly even for middle-income households. This approach could be very useful in neighborhoods like Point Breeze and neighborhoods that are the future Point Breezes.”

How to prepare Philly and Puerto Rico for the next climate disaster? Penn Design students took on the challenge

Graduate students in the School of Design spent the last semester developing ways to prepare Philadelphia and cities in Puerto Rico for climate-related challenges and migrations.

Cutting and folding toward innovations in medicine, design, and more

Artist-in-residence Mike Tanis and physicist Randall Kamien use kirigami, literally “cut paper,” to better grasp scientific concepts and to solve real-world challenges.

interior of abandoned building with sunlight coming in from windows

How tactical preservation can save endangered buildings in Philly and Detroit

PennDesign studios are beginning a three-year project called Detroit/Philadelphia Preservation Exchange, investigating preservation issues in distressed neighborhoods in the two cities.

Thom Collins teaching class at the Barnes

In this photography class, students become curators—at the Barnes

This year’s Spiegel-Wilks Curatorial Seminar has taken students inside the world of the Barnes Foundation, where they learn about the history of photography and get a hands-on look at museum operations.

Philadelphia skyline with view of the Schuylkill River

New fellowship offers undergrads unfiltered, frank access to city leaders

Through the program, offered by the Penn Institute for Urban Research, 14 students will meet with a former Philadelphia mayor, Philly’s current director of planning and development, and more.

Fort Union adobe ruins with blue sky in distance

Monitoring heritage sites with drones and remote sensors

The Center for Architectural Conservation has been observing adobe ruins for three years as a harbinger for climate change. Any damage that the changing climate will do to exposed structures, it will do it to adobe first.

This startup wants to revolutionize the future of biofabrication

Before the fall of 2012, Orkan Telhan and Karen Hogan didn’t even know each other. Fast forward six years, and the Penn duo has created budding startup Biorealize, with not one—but two—transformative products.

philly neighborhood with downtown skyline

A plan to balance growth, quality housing, poverty, and construction for an entire city

PennDesign’s Vincent Reina helped Philadelphia complete its first comprehensive housing plan.

Filters