Built Environment

The campus development plan, Penn Connects, recommends sustainable development for all new projects. Every new building currently under design is registered with the US Green Building Council, and is targeting LEED Silver rating or higher. Although not all projects will proceed immediately, the budgets range from about $20M to $300M, with a total aggregate construction value of over $1 billion.

Music Building

The renovation of the Music Building, currently under construction, is targeted to be a LEED Silver Building.

Reuse of Materials

A common practice is salvaging stonework and paving materials from renovations and upgrades to campus landscapes. The Civic House interpretive native garden, completed in 2007, reused paving stones from the 2004 renovation of Annenberg Plaza and surplus pavers from the Levine Hall renovation of 1996. The benches are salvaged 19th century granite curbstone and all paving is set in a sand bed to facilitate infiltration of storm water.

Green Roofs

Green Roof

Green roof at Kings Court English College House

Green roofs, or living landscapes, can be found at Hill Pavilion at the Vet School, Koo Plaza at Huntsman Hall, Nursing’s Claire Fagin Hall courtyard, Kings Court English College House, and at The Radian apartment complex. Green roofs help moderate the temperature of the building, retain storm water, reduce carbon dioxide, provide visual relief for neighbors, and an additional green space on campus.

Campus Master Plan

Our campus master plan, Penn Connects, concentrates mixed-use dense development near existing transportation hubs, allowing the academic functions to remain in the core of campus. This reduces the footprint of the built environment, while adding square footage to the campus, leaving room for open and green space. The University has added functions by renovating older buildings and building new structures, while keeping the amount of open space on campus largely the same. With the addition of Penn Park in 2010, the campus will experience an increase in recreational and passive green space.