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©Albert Vecerka / Esto
Inspiring spaces in the Singh Center and Skirkanich Hall
reinforce the School’s reputation as an integrated center
of academic excellence.
While the exterior design successfully melds historic
with contemporary aesthetics, Levine’s interior features
modern design and technological innovation. Its
soaring loft spaces replete with natural light are the
result of a post-tensioned concrete structure and a
ventilated aluminum frame curtain wall system that,
prior to Levine, had never before been used in the
United States.
Transformational Vision
While Levine connects Towne and Moore on 34th
Street, a new building project was initiated in 2003
to do the same on 33rd Street. Completed in 2006,
the 58,000-square-foot Skirkanich Hall is home to the
Department of Bioengineering and includes a grand
entrance to Penn Engineering.
From the outside, Skirkanich eschews the academically
traditional red-brick façade for one that glimmers
greenish-gold against cantilevered shingled-glass
panes and zinc panels. Inside, Canadian granite and
polished concrete define interior paths and courtyards
that successfully link the disparate floor plans
and elevations of Towne and Moore. State-of-the-art
teaching labs and research facilities, office space, and a
top-floor conference room with panoramic views of the
Penn campus and Philadelphia skyline are juxtaposed
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