Architects give U. Superblock plans

Six architecture firms recently submitted their plans for a new design of Hamilton Village, formerly known as Superblock. The six architectural firms that are competing to design the new look of the Hamilton Village area of campus submitted their plans last week to the University for inspection, according to University officials. The project is part of Penn's 10-year, $300 million dormitory and dining overhaul and includes extensive renovations to each of the high rises and low rises. The six firms, based as close as Philadelphia and as far away as Vancouver, British Columbia, visited campus this past April to get a feel for the University's needs before creating and submitting their designs for the project. The renovations will include the addition of 1,000 new beds in Hamilton Village -- formerly known as Superblock -- and each of the high rises will be reconfigured to give them a stronger college house atmosphere. University officials stressed that the final design for the project will likely incorporate different elements from each of the proposals, and officials expect to hire more than one firm to complete the project. According to David Brownlee, director of college houses and academic services, the designs submitted by the firms are all impressive and present many different possibilities for the job. "This is a very exciting demonstration of some of the greatest architectural talent in the world today," Brownlee said. While the University did give the firms a limited number of restrictions, Brownlee said the contest was very much a "brainstorming session" for both the potential architects and Penn officials. "These are very conceptual designs," Brownlee said. "We're really just looking for ideas." The decision to hold the design contest was reached in part by a consultative committee of students, faculty and staff. The same group -- with the addition of community members -- will participate in selecting one or more of the firms. "Personally, I would like to hire more than one of them," Brownlee said. The designs will be made public by the end of the summer so University officials can get feedback from the Penn community and "share the excitement" of the project, Brownlee said. "Our goal is to get perspective," said Larry Moneta, associate vice president for campus services. After they've obtained their share of that perspective, University officials will work with the winning firms to complete the final design of Hamilton Village, which must be approved by the University Trustees before construction can begin. While University officials said they are trying to get as much diversity in the designs as possible by laying few guidelines or restrictions on the firms, they did specifically ask each architect to design one new building and propose renovations for one high rise and one low rise. Penn administrators have not yet determined the extent of the renovations, which depends upon funding, and have not ruled out the possibility of gutting the existing buildings from the inside out. Seven hundred of the new beds will come from a series of low-rise buildings situated throughout the Hamilton Village area. Project coordinators expect to add another 300 beds to the existing residences, which include the three high rises and the Gregory and DuBois college houses. University officials have outlined three clear objectives for the project: to provide additional bed space and upgrade existing facilities; to create a more attractive visual and physical environment; and to integrate Hamilton Village with the surrounding neighborhood. University officials expect the winning firm or firms to complete final designs -- under University supervision -- by early 2000, with groundbreaking scheduled early in the fall of 2000.

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