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Facilities and Real Estate

Using stairwells for wellness
Blue stripe with Determination written on it in stairwell

“Determination” is one of many motivational phrases used to encourage people to take the stairwell as part of the StairWELL UPenn campaign. (Photo: Danielle Cavalcanto)

Using stairwells for wellness

StairWELL, a Penn Sustainability Green Fund project, completed a yearlong pilot project last July that aimed to test how effective a stairwell makeover could be in increasing physical activity and reducing energy costs.
Stewards of the University collection
Mark Kocent

Stewards of the University collection

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

Penn Today Staff

A walk through history
closeup of granite bench and curbing with text

A walk through history

Jenny Holzer’s landscape installation “125 Years” celebrates its 15th anniversary as an interactive text-based tribute to women’s legacies at Penn.
Keeping campus trees—all 6,800 of them—healthy and vibrant
Looking down on campus through a variety of colorful treetops, people walk by holding umbrellas

The changing foliage of Penn’s trees make even a gray and rainy day look bright. Campus staff take a proactive approach to maintaining the trees’ health.

Keeping campus trees—all 6,800 of them—healthy and vibrant

Caring for the trees on Penn’s campus—an official arboretum since last year—is no small undertaking. Staff from Facilities and Real Estate Services and the Morris Arboretum lead the way in ensuring that the University’s trees remain safe, vibrant, diverse, and beautiful.

Katherine Unger Baillie

New Ronald O. Perelman Center looks to the future while preserving the past
VIPs cutting the Perelman building ribbon Gutmann (center) was joined on stage by (from left to right) Penn Provost Wendell Pritchett, Perelman, Cohen, and School of Arts and Sciences Dean Steven J. Fluharty.

New Ronald O. Perelman Center looks to the future while preserving the past

For the first time, the School of Arts and Sciences’ departments of Political Science and Economics will coexist in the same building.
Lauder Institute building expansion and renovation dedicated
Penn-President-Amy-Gutmann-and-Provost-Wendell-Pritchett-with-Ronald-Lauder-and-Leonard-Lauder-cutting-ribbon-on-Lauder-Institute-building-renovation.

Penn President Amy Gutmann (right) dedicated the new renovation of the Lauder Institute building with (from left) Provost Wendell Pritchett, brothers and Penn alumni Leonard A. Lauder, Ronald S. Lauder, and Institute director Mauro Guillén on Tuesday, Oct. 23. The work is expected to be completed by fall of 2019. (Photo by Shira Yudkoff)

Lauder Institute building expansion and renovation dedicated

Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett joined alumni Ronald S. Lauder and Leonard A. Lauder to dedicate the renovation of the building that houses the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of International Studies and Management, which the two brothers founded 35 years ago.

Louisa Shepard

Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics design pairs new with old
a picture with night view of the facade of the perelman center for political science and economics

South view of the contemporary expansion of the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics. Photo copyright Adrien Williams, courtesy of KPMB.

Adrien Williams, courtesy of KPMB

Ronald O. Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics design pairs new with old

An expansive contemporary addition complements and incorporates the adaptive reuse of the circa 1925 Art Deco-style heritage bank building at the corner of 36th and Walnut streets.
Growing a ‘culture of cultivation’ on campus
Penn Park Orchard

The Penn Park Orchard, located at the southeastern edge of campus, is home to fruit trees, herbs, perennial flowers, and more. Planting events set for this fall will expand the orchard's boundaries. (Photo: Cole Jadrosich/FRES)

Growing a ‘culture of cultivation’ on campus

Even on an urban campus, there are numerous places to coax food from the soil. From the Penn Student Garden on Spruce Street to the Penn Park Orchard, Facilities and Real Estate Services staff are expanding opportunities for the community to interact with an edible landscape.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The new and improving Penn Bookstore
Penn Bookstore

The 50,000-square-foot Penn Bookstore, operated by Barnes & Noble Education, is one of the largest of its kind ever built. This summer, its inside underwent various enhancements.

The new and improving Penn Bookstore

The 50,000-square-foot Bookstore, last updated in 2013, is completing renovations, including a revamped café, new escalators and stairs, and a food-and-drink marketplace.

Lauren Hertzler