Pennovation Center Receives Preservation Achievement Award From Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia

“The Pennovation Center design represents a collective effort and significant, highly visible leap forward in the larger vision of planning the entire 23-acre Pennovation Works community,” said Anne Papageorge, Penn’s Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services. “Its architecture, landscape, signage and programming build on the past while reflecting the new discoveries and ventures taking place within.”

We are so excited to announce that the Pennovation Center, designed by KSS Architects and Hollwich Kushner, has received the Preservation Achievement Grand Jury Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia. A new hub at the University of Pennsylvania for collaboration, connectivity, technological expertise, and creativity, the Pennovation Center honors the industrial history of Philadelphia, while instilling a new legacy of creative exploration and entrepreneurship, bolstering Philadelphia’s long-term economic development.

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“The Pennovation Center signifies part of an innovative movement at the leading edge of global transformation – as a catalyst for learning, incubator for commerce, and force for community,” said Petar Mattioni, AIA, LEED AP, Partner, KSS Architects. “The realization of this facility, both rich in heritage and ambitiously future-oriented, was born from the very same principles of collaboration, connectivity, technical expertise, and creativity. We are grateful that the Preservation Alliance shares our vision of Pennovation as both a future-looking innovation space and stalwart of the past, celebrating and preserving Philadelphia’s rich history and environment.”

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The Pennovation Works community comes to life with ample opportunity for collaboration and co-education. Bringing the University’s researchers, students, and innovative, corporate constituents together in a variety of shared spaces, including wet labs, a fabrication lab, coworking spaces, and key social areas that promote connectivity and engagement. We are incredibly proud that this adaptive re-use of this former DuPont paint laboratory has become an iconic signifier of globally impactful innovation and transformation.

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Thank you to everyone involved in realizing the vision for the Pennovation Center, and thank you to Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia for this incredible honor.

The award will be officially presented at the annual Preservation Alliance celebration in June.