A firm Penn has hired to aid its imminent expansion is also working on a grand vision for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Dennis Pieprz, president of the architecture and urban design firm Sasaki Associates, described the thought process behind his firm's winning proposal for the master plan of Beijing's Olympics Wednesday at the Annenberg Center.
The University has hired Sasaki to design the U.S. Postal Service property east of campus that Penn will acquire next year.
"We tried to develop a plan that showcased the culture of China, of Beijing," Pieprz said of the firm's plans for the Olympics. "We wanted to bring in a sense of invention and creativity."
He emphasized the multifaceted nature of the master plan, which was designed to feature the themes of "culture, contest, integration, place, scale, invention and environment."
The plot itself rests about 3 miles north of the Forbidden City, Beijing's famous imperial palace.
Sasaki planners were inspired by traditional Chinese landscapes to position artificial hills around a central axis, with a continuous body of water winding through the complex.
The Olympic stadium and water-sport complex, which were designed by other firms, will also be constructed on opposite sides of the axis.
"We chose not to put the buildings on the axis," Pieprz said. "We wanted the people to be at the center, not an object, no matter how important it is."
Pieprz envisions the space being used as a public park, with the artificial body of water acting as a reservoir in the future.
"We tried to show what the place would be like after the Olympics," he said. "We have all sorts of ideas in terms of how the space can be used in an ecologically beneficial way."
The idea for the event came out of a research project being done by Annenberg graduate students on the role of media in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"It's interesting how the 2008 Olympics are being used by various parties to redefine China, from everything including the master plan to the mascots to the way they will be depicted on television," said visiting Annenberg professor Monroe Price.
Some who attended the event felt that hosting the Olympics reflects China's rise to world prominence.
"Between the Olympics and the 2010 World's Fair in Shanghai, China is making its arrival as a world leader," said City Planning graduate student Elias Isaacson. "It's making the transition from being a dependent, third-world country into a political superpower and economic driving force."
The event was hosted by the Annenberg School for Communication's Project for Global Communication Studies.
