Tag: university-of-pennsylvania | ArchDaily

Discover the Top Universities for Architecture and the Built Environment in 2026, According to QS Rankings

Reyyan Dogan — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:30:00 +0000

The 2026 edition of the QS World University Rankings, published by Quacquarelli Symonds, presents an updated overview of leading academic institutions worldwide. In the field of Architecture and the Built Environment, the 2026 edition once again evaluates universities across regions, reflecting both long-standing academic excellence and shifting global dynamics. The Bartlett School of Architecture maintains its position at the top of the ranking, continuing its multi-year lead, while the overall composition of the top 10 signals subtle but notable changes rather than major disruptions.

The European Cultural Centre Announces 21 Shortlisted Projects for the 2025 ECC Awards

Antonia Piñeiro — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 05:30:00 +0000

The European Cultural Centre Italy has organized the ECC Awards since 2010 to recognize artists, architects, designers, and academics in their respective fields. The Awards highlight projects featured in the Time Space Existence exhibition, which runs in parallel with the Venice Architecture Biennale and showcases tangible approaches to building more sustainably, aiming to position architecture as a force for environmental and social repair. The seventh edition of Time Space Existence is a group exhibition spanning three Venetian venues: Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens. This year, the exhibition focuses on the themes of Repair, Regenerate, and Reuse, emphasizing the essential role of architects and designers as agents of positive change in shaping sustainable, inclusive, and regenerative ways of living.

Architectural Acts of Repair: Critical Themes from the 2025 ECC "Time Space Existence" Exhibition

Maria-Cristina Florian — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:30:00 +0000

The 2025 edition of the European Cultural Centre's (ECC) Time Space Existence exhibition in Venice is guided by the mandate to "Repair, Regenerate, and Reuse." Aiming to move beyond surface-level solutions and overused terminology, the exhibition showcases a cohort of practitioners who interpret architecture as an active agent of repair. The most compelling works presented in Venice demonstrate that "repair" is a multifaceted practice, operating across material, social, and historical registers. The varied approaches showcase a shift in the role of the architect, from a master builder and designer of physical objects, to that of a mender, able to combine technology, community, and material intelligence to restore narratives and build stronger cultural systems.

Steven Holl Architects Reveals Design for New Student Performing Arts Center for the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.

Maria-Cristina Florian — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 06:30:00 +0000

The University of Pennsylvania has unveiled Steven Holl Architects’ design for its new Student Performing Arts Center. The 37,300-square-foot building is set to offer dedicated and flexible spaces for over 70 student performing arts groups on campus, including dance, theater arts, a cappella groups, and musical ensembles. The proposal was informed by a study completed in 2019 by Penn’s University Life, which concluded that additional performance and rehearsal space was needed to meet current and future demand. The project is set to begin construction in 2024, with anticipated occupancy starting in winter 2027.

Are School Rankings a Thing from the Past? 16 Architecture Deans Criticize these Surveys in Official Statement

Christele Harrouk — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 05:30:00 +0000

In a letter published on MIT's School of Architecture and Planning’s website, 16 deans from prominent architecture schools in the U.S, explain their position to stop participating in the annual survey that ranks universities. "Design education is not a popularity contest. Although generally our schools have been highly ranked in past DesignIntelligence reports and benefitted from the attention, we believe that it is time to stop participating", declares the statement signed by scholars, deans, and department chairs of MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, Rice, and UCLA, to name a few.

"I Would Rather Be Known as an Architect of Elegant Restraint": Interview with Belmont (Monty) Freeman

Vladimir Belogolovsky — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 03:30:00 +0000

Belmont (Monty) Freeman (b. 1951) founded his New York-based, currently eight-person practice, Belmont Freeman Architects in 1986. Its active projects are half institutional and half residential, with a special focus on adaptive reuse, predominantly in New York and nearby states. Among the firm’s most exemplary projects are the LGBT Carriage House on the University of Pennsylvania campus, a series of restorations at the Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram Building, renovations at the Yale Club in Manhattan, and the renovation of the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, designed by Kevin Roche. Current projects include an expansive but minimalist residential compound on Martha’s Vineyard, branch library renovations in New York City, and redevelopment of a former meatpacking building into a new Innovation Hub for Columbia University’s Business School.

America's Most Admired Architectural Schools 2020 Ranked

Christele Harrouk — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 09:00:00 +0000

The annual DesignIntelligence architecture school ranking for 2020 classified the establishments according to the “most admired” rather than the “best”, for the second year in a row. The subjective classification is based on the responses of hiring professionals.

David Adjaye Honored with 2018 Louis Kahn Memorial Award

Niall Patrick Walsh — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:00:00 +0000

British architect Sir David Adjaye, Founding Principal of Adjaye Associates, will be honored as this year’s recipient of the Louis I. Kahn Memorial Award by the Center for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia. The annual award celebrates the achievements of an individual who has made a significant contribution to the field of architecture, while also celebrating the achievements of influential Philadelphia-based architect Louis Kahn.

The Best Architecture Schools in the U.S. 2017

Patrick Lynch — Sat, 03 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000

With schools around the country starting back up again, it’s time for the latest edition of DesignIntelligence’s yearly rankings of the Top Architecture Schools in the US for both undergraduate and graduate programs. This year, CEOs, managing partners, and human-resource directors from more than 2,000 firms were asked to list the 10 programs from each category they felt best prepared students for success in the profession of architecture.

Frederick Steiner Named Dean of PennDesign

Karissa Rosenfield — Tue, 01 Mar 2016 12:00:00 +0000

Frederick Steiner has been named the new dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Design (Penn Design). Effective July 1, the appointment comes after Steiner announced his departure from the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, which, according to The Texas Tribune, was partially due to the school's new gun law that will allow students to carry concealed firearms.

Louis Kahn's Notorious Richards Laboratory Restored

Karissa Rosenfield — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 16:00:00 +0000

Louis Kahn's Richards Medical Research Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania, once deemed "the most consequential building constructed in the United States" since World War II by MoMA, has been notoriously hated by its users; scientists claim the building lacks privacy, has too much exposure to sunlight and is not suitable for lab experiments. Thus, the University's architect has just completed a full renovation of Richards' four brick towers, converting them into offices and computer labs for researchers, while, as Philly.com reports, restoring the structure to its original essence.

The Life Of Dalibor Vesely: Teacher, Philosopher, Acclaimed Academic

James Taylor-Foster — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 04:00:46 +0000

Dalibor Vesely, a celebrated architectural historian, philosopher and teacher, died this week in London aged 79. Over the course of his teaching career, which spanned five decades, he tutored a number of the world’s leading architects and thinkers from Daniel Libeskind, Alberto Pérez-Gómez and Robin Evans, to Mohsen Mostafavi and David Leatherbarrow.

The Pennovation Center / HWKN

Patricia Arcilla — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 18:00:35 +0000

New York-based firm HWKN have revealed the design for what is to become the University of Pennsylvania's latest hub for entrepreneurs, researchers, and innovators. Dubbed "The Pennovation Centre," the project is the first major development within the Pennovation Works, and will occupy a 58,000-square-foot footprint on the campus' south.

AD Interviews: Winka Dubbeldam

David Basulto — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 01:00:00 +0000

At last week's Mextrópoli conference we spoke with Winka Dubbeldam about the challenges of architecture education. We also asked her to elaborate on why she thinks architecture should embrace industrial design tools. Watch the short clip to hear Winka's thoughts on making technology a more integral part of our built environment.

A New Series Featuring Laurie Olin, Acclaimed Landscape Architect

Eric Baldwin — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

The Cultural Landscape Foundation recently launched its newest documentary as part of the ongoing Oral History series, this time focusing on the ideas and career of Laurie Olin, a recipient of the National Medal of the Arts and one of the greatest landscape architects of our time. Olin's influential work as a practitioner, educator and author over the past forty years has helped to guide the future of landscape architecture and shape urban life around the world.

499.SUMMIT Reimagines U.S. Prisons

Karissa Rosenfield — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:00:31 +0000

With the guidance of their instructor Matthias Hollwich, students Andreas Tjeldflaat and Greg Knobloch from University of Pennsylvania’s School of Design have proposed an alternative to the traditional prisons seen throughout the United States. The innovative high-rise penitentiary acknowledges the fact that nearly two-thirds of the 14,000 inmates released annually from New Jersey correctional facilities will return to prison within five years. 499.SUMMIT offers a solution that intends to reverse that statistic and help inmates successfully transition back into society.

Video: Swarming Nano Quadrotors Fly in Formation

Karissa Rosenfield — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 19:00:31 +0000

You may remember our coverage on the Flight Assembled Architecture exhibit by Gramazio & Kohler and Raffaello D’Andrea, in collaboration with ETH Zurich, that featured a team of flying drones constructing an architectural structure at the scale of a 600m high “vertical village” out of foam blocks. Well, check this out! Roboticists at the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab, along with developer Kmel Robotics, have created these autonomous Nano Quadrotors capable of flying in formation and flawlessly performing complex maneuvers. Imagine the possibilities!

Immersive Kinematics: A New Research Website at the University of Pennsylvania

Alison Furuto — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:00:06 +0000

Immersive Kinematics, a new research group at the University of Pennsylvania, shared with us their newly launch website. The research agenda expands the roles of architecture and engineering focusing on integrating robotics, interaction, and embedded intelligence in our buildings, cities, and cultures.