The University announced its master plan earlier this month for a sustainable Neural and Behavioral Sciences building, which is slated to be operational in September 2011.
The building will be designed by SmithGroup, an architecture firm with a reputation for sustainable design.
This will complete the quadrangle of life science buildings already located near 37th Street and University Avenue and will streamline collaboration between the Psychology and Biology departments, which work on many projects jointly.
The building will also be part of the University's latest efforts at promoting sustainability through design.
The School of Arts and Sciences worked with the Office of the University Architect to find an architect who could step up to the challenge of creating a modern scientific building that was also environmentally sustainable.
Seeking to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold standards - the second highest standards awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council - "is extraordinarily challenging for a science building," said University Architect David Hollenberg who served on the committee that chose SmithGroup.
SmithGroup's expertise in sustainable projects helped them secure the bid from the University.
Katie Roland, a SmithGroup marketing representative, described the importance of sustainable educational buildings.
"We strongly believe that the values of sustainable design are synonymous with the needs of a learning environment," she wrote in an e-mail.
It will take six to eight months before a master plan is completed, but representatives from SmithGroup said they hope to optimize natural lighting and ventilation, while providing indoor air using natural, non-toxic and renewable materials.
The building will include space for biologists and psychologists and an auditorium - as well as offering students access to research and housing the Biological Basis of Behavior Program.
The NBS building was approved about six months ago by Penn President Amy Gutmann, though the idea stretches back 13 years.
Recent collaboration among various departments on neuroscience research was an impetus for moving forward with the building, SAS Vice Dean of Finance and Administration Ramin Sedehi said.
"Understanding the brain has been the most important thing in life sciences research," Sedehi said. "Research covers everything from the study of neurons all the way to how those things affect someone's behavior."
