A behind-the-scenes look at Penn Weitzman School of Design’s first major renovation in 60 years

The Daily Pennsylvanian took a behind-the-scenes look at the newly renovated Weitzman Hall with School of Design Dean Frederick Steiner ahead of the building’s unveiling on Feb. 5.

The $58 million renovation — the school’s first major capital project in nearly 60 years — began in May 2024. The building’s reimagined interior will include the headquarters for the Department of Fine Arts, individual art studios, community design studios, student maker spaces, research facilities, and several multipurpose spaces designed to increase collaboration.

The project is spearheaded by partners from KieranTimberlake — an architecture firm founded by 1976 School of Design graduate Stephen Kieran and 1977 School of Design graduate James Timberlake.

Steiner told the DP that while the renovation will “improve the studios,” it was also “designed to bring all of the disciplines in the school together, and to have more interaction.”

“There’s a lot more space for interaction and review in Weitzman Hall,” the dean added. He also pointed to the significance of the building’s location — next to Meyerson Hall and Fisher Fine Arts Library — and highlighted the newly designed plaza between Weitzman Hall and the Lerner Center.

Senior Director of Communications Michael Grant described the “many different kinds of spaces” inside the building in an interview with the DP.

Steiner received his Master in Regional Planning, Master of Arts, and Ph.D. from Penn. Steiner remembered struggling with learning in classrooms without natural light — an experience that inspired his hope to feature large windows in all rooms, spaces, and staircases of the new building. 

Acquired by Penn in 1899, the building originally housed the Foulke and Long Institute, an orphanage for young girls. The design team aimed to preserve several of the original elements —  including a restoration of the initial building’s bricks, which are visible throughout the development.

Although it would have been “easier” to rebuild from scratch, Steiner said that the team felt it was right to reuse the building from both “environmental” and “heritage” perspectives. They worked to strike a balance between modernizing water, heating, and energy systems to be more environmentally friendly and preserving “historic” structures.

The construction process was expected to take two years, but wrapped up in approximately 15 months, according to Grant. Director of Operations and Planning Karl Wellman also emphasized the importance of “having the right people” on the design and construction teams.

“It’s like an orchestra playing together,” Wellman told the DP. “When everybody’s in tune, it works well.” 

The building features a gallery on the ground floor, which will be used for various exhibitions — including one for America’s 250th anniversary — this year.

“This space can be a gallery, it can be a lecture hall, it can be a reception,” Grant said. “The building was designed for flexibility in these first-floor spaces, because we know that all of those different things happen at different times. We’ll be inviting the Penn community and the neighborhood for different experiences and events.”

According to Wellman, Weitzman students were given the opportunity to follow the building’s development firsthand, turning the process into a real-world learning experience. She added that architecture and preservation students were present at all stages of the renovation, learning from the construction in real time.

“It exemplifies what we teach,” Steiner said. “Our disciplines are embodied in the building.”

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