Though it may look from Locust Walk like the towering Huntsman Hall project has quite a way to go until completion, administrators say the building is indeed on schedule and set to open this summer.
The $140 million structure, begun in 1999 and funded in large part by Wharton alumnus Jon Huntsman, is projected to open its doors Aug. 1.
All wings of the new Wharton building -- the lower south and east wings and the nine-story tower abutting Walnut Street -- are moving along, with workers already starting to paint some of Huntsman Hall's interior walls.
"The project is gearing towards completion in August and... it's a tight schedule but... we really will make it," Vice President for Facilities and Real Estate Services Omar Blaik said.
The Huntsman Hall project is Penn's first building funded entirely through donations since Houston Hall was built in the late 1800s.
Once finished, the building will feature technology-rich classrooms, faculty offices, two Au Bon Pain cafes, an auditorium, student lounges and 57 small rooms designed especially for group work.
The building will also contain one structural element that Wharton School Projects Program Director Doug Carney is especially proud of -- escalators.
He said he believes this is "the first instance of using escalators" on Penn's campus, referring to the escalator system as a "vertical circulation transportation space."
The architects opted for escalators because of the very high volume of people expected to pass through Huntsman on a daily basis, according to Carney.
Huntsman Hall will have two main entrances, one on Locust Walk and the other on Walnut Street.
Carney anticipates that the Locust Walk entrance will be used mainly by undergraduates, as it will offer direct access to undergraduate classrooms, the undergraduate cafe and study rooms.
Carney said faculty, staff and MBA students will likely use the Walnut entrance, as it provides access to the tower, which will contain offices and a "colloquium level" designed for large meetings.
This entrance is also closer to the parking garage at 38th and Walnut streets, where many faculty members, staffers and graduate students will be coming from each day.
In addition, there will be a secondary entrance to Huntsman Hall from the courtyard formed between Stiteler Hall and the Graduate School of Education.
Also planned is a landscaped green area atop a lower portion of Huntsman. This area will feature several pyramidal skylights extending up and out of the building.
Carney said that Huntsman Hall has been specially designed to be low-maintenance, thanks to some of its interior brick walls and terazzo floors.
Brick saves the University from having to repaint every few years, and terazzo does not have to be vacuumed. The classrooms, however, will be carpeted in order to provide better acoustics.
