Penn will begin a partial demolition of David Rittenhouse Laboratory and build a brand-new Physical Sciences building within the next several years.
The project will involve the demolition and rebuilding of the wing of DRL that goes along 33rd Street and the renovation of the wing along Walnut Street. The renovation project was announced at last month's Board of Trustees meetings, during which the trustees voted to allocate $11.25 million for an early phase of the construction and renovation process.
Associate Dean for the Natural Sciences Mark Trodden told The Daily Pennsylvanian that the renovated buildings — part of a project "to reimagine what … we'll eventually end up calling the Physical Sciences Complex" — will house the Physics and Astronomy, Mathematics, and Earth and Environmental Science departments, as well as classrooms. Facilities and Real Estate Services Director in Design & Construction Jennifer Kinkead said that she hopes for construction to begin in the next "two to three years."
"I think it's been clear we've needed a new building there for a long time. If anyone is taking classes in the building … you probably don't need me to explain that to you," Trodden said. "It's a very old building. In fact, it's two very old buildings and it's not really fit for 21st-century science, and it's also not an ideal environment to teach our amazing students in.”
Kinkead added that the new buildings will include modern amenities, including updated mechanical and electrical systems, proper temperature and environmental controls, and more access to daylight.
“The idea is that it'll be a completely reimagined laboratories and research space for 21st-century physical sciences,” Trodden said.
Kinkead said that Penn is currently undergoing a study to determine a plan to relocate the classes, labs, and offices housed in DRL while the building is under construction. Gary Purpura, Penn's associate vice provost of education and academic planning, wrote to the DP that Penn is pursuing multiple approaches to account for the classrooms that will be unavailable.
Purpura highlighted three main approaches: holding more classes at time slots that are underutilized, identifying Penn spaces that are not typically used as classrooms that could be used as such during the renovation, and looking at the commercial market for spaces to lease as classrooms.
The first approach would result in additional classes taught in the 8:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. windows.
“As of now, we are not pursuing any new commercial leases to meet the need for classroom space during the DRL renovation," Purpura wrote. "The plan is to determine how much of the need Penn can meet through increased utilization of Penn spaces and then fill any remaining need via commercial spaces."
Trodden said that recent changes in how science operates require "a building that reflects that and allows us to sort of do science in a modern way."
He said that "in DRL today, there is research that was not really imagined when DRL was built," giving the example that the building currently does not have adequate facilities for modern physics research.
“That's made it very hard for us to recruit and retain faculty," Trodden said. "It's sort of something that's really necessary to keep our teaching portfolio where it should be."
College first-year Sarah Monteiro described the current classrooms in the building are “quite run down” and said that she was glad to learn about the renovations, especially those that will affect temperature control.
“There was one class session that I had there that was so unbearable to be in that room, because the heat was on full max, even though it was 80 degrees outside," Montiero said. "The conditions [in DRL] are not that great as compared to other buildings [on campus]."
Monteiro agreed with Trodden that many of the rooms in DRL now are essentially wasted space, saying that "a lot of rooms … just look like storage closets; they don't look like they are serving much of a purpose."
Trodden also said that the renovation aims to make DRL a more inviting space for students outside of classes.
“Right now in DRL, students come in, they take their classes, they leave — and that's not ideal," Trodden said. "In all of our minds is the notion that there will be some kind of common space for students to collaborate, to work, and to hang out."
Editor's Note: This article was updated with the correct attribution for two quotes originally attributed to Kinkead. The DP regrets this error.
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