Joke Issue: Dueling Tampons to be repainted White

Penn is getting some upgrades. Period.

The iconic statue on High Rise Field known as The Tampons will be repainted white over the summer, the first in a new campus design evaluation initiative called Transforming School Style.

TSS is a new partnership between with Penn Design’s architecture program and Facilities & Real Estate Services to come up with innovative ideas for campus-wide design renovations.

“We want to break the cycle of design ruts on campus, and TSS is the best way for Penn to absorb all of the creativity and expertise that our students and employees have to offer,“ University Architect and co-director of TSS David Hollenberg said.

Twelfth-year architecture student Tammy Paxton proposed the idea of repainting The Tampons white in order to give the west end of campus a fresh, clean feeling.

“Red is a messy color, often associated with pain for many people, and we want to make sure that students, faculty and employees have 360 degree comfort in terms of the design and aesthetic value of Penn’s campus,” she said.

But FRES has expressed concerns about the logistical details of the upcoming paint job.

“I’m just worried that some of the color from the original paint might bleed through, so we will have to be extremely cautious when selecting the right brand and style of paint to make sure that it’s the right fit,” said Guy Ceauxteks, founding managing director for paint maintenance for FRES.

TSS will officially kick off in the fall, when Penn Design and FRES will perform monthly evaluations of Penn’s overall aesthetic quality.

“We will be closely collaborating with the artists whose work is represented on campus to ensure that these changes won’t cramp their style,” TSS co-director and executive director of design and construction management for FRES Michael Dausch said.

Hollenberg said he is extremely happy to see this program get off the ground, especially after the launch of TSS was delayed for a few months due to unresolved logistical discussions and months of planning and negotiations.

“It can be a bit nerve-wracking when these kind of things are late, but we’re all relieved that it’s finally here,” he said of the new initiative.

“We recognize that this is an emotional issue, and putting this program together has created headache and fatigue for many of us, but we expect that to subside one to two days after the project begins,” Dausch added.

Hollenberg looks forward to the changes to The Tampons and said that the Penn community can expect a “heavy flow of exciting architectural design updates and changes in the coming years.”

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