The University has made significant contributions to modern architecture, and though it might not seem possible, the parking garages that dot Penn's campus are among them.
The Philadelphia Architecture Lecture Series kicked off this week in the Independence Blue Cross Tower, located at 19th and Market streets.
The series is sponsored by Center City's "Walk Philadelphia" guided tour program and includes a lecture highlighting a different facet of Philadelphia's architecture every Tuesday evening.
Some of Penn's buildings are featured prominently in both the 12-week lecture series and Walk Philadelphia's campus walking tour.
Paula Spilner, who serves as a lecturer and tour program manager for Walk Philadelphia, said, "We'll spend a lot of time talking about Frank Furness -- architect of the Fisher Fine Arts Library -- when we get to the Victorian period. We will probably mention [one of] the dorms on Spruce Street, the old Quad, which is one of the first dormitories to be designed in the collegiate gothic style."
According to University architect Charles Newman, Fisher has an "incredible sequence of interior space," and the stacks were an innovative way to arrange books at the time. The Quad, he said, was also ahead of its time.
The Quad is "really an archetypal building in the U.S. for college housing," Newman said. "It was trying to recreate the English form of dormitory."
Spilner added that other important buildings at Penn include the work of the Philadelphia firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates.
VSBA designed the Perelman Quadrangle, the Clinical Research Building and the renovation of Logan Hall. Newman also added that VSBA's work on the Vagelos Laboratories was particularly noteworthy.
"I think it is a terrific building. It is a very skillful creation of streetscape," Newman said. "There is no doubt that Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown are two of the most significant figures in American architecture in this century."
According to Spilner, Philadelphia is an excellent location for an architecture lecture series because of its rich heritage.
"We sometimes call it a museum of American architecture, although of course it's not a museum, it's a living city," Spilner said. "If you're from out of town, [the series is] a great way to become familiar with the monuments of Philadelphia."
Dan McCoubrey, a Penn alumnus who works in the Manayunk-headquartered VSBA, said that Penn has had an interest in good design for some time and is an ideal client because they build often and are always looking to the future.
"Penn has for a long time been a great patron of architecture in general and our firm in particular," McCoubrey said. "Over the years, they've been a terrific client of ours."
According to Mary O'Toole, coordinator for the Department of Architecture, the Richards Medical Research Building is also a popular destination for architecture buffs.
"People contact us all the time asking for campus maps to find," the Richards Medical Research Building, O'Toole said.
Newman agreed, calling Richards -- located at 37th and Hamilton Walk -- the most architecturally important building on campus.
"It is a seminal building of modern architecture," Newman said. "An important idea from the standpoint of modern architecture is articulating function clearly in the form of the building."
Not all of Penn's notable buildings have turned out as expected. For examples, look no further than Penn's parking garages, some of which stand out for their use of precast concrete.
"We have some very interesting parking garages, actually," Newman said. "They are functionally challenged, though."
Even worse is the case of Irvine Auditorium, designed by the famous Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer.
"While it's a terrific structure, it for many years could not be used for its intended purpose because of its terrible acoustics," Newman said.
In addition to the lecture series, Walk Philadelphia sponsors over 50 different tours around the Philadelphia area between May and December. A total of 75 guides, some of whom have been giving tours for nearly 20 years, are employed by the program.
The series is open to the public and offers a survey of Philadelphia architecture from its founding to the present.
Also included is a brief primer on Western European architecture. Lectures will be given by distinguished professors and design professionals. Student registration costs $275 for the whole session or $30 per individual lecture.
