Penn's Engineering School has a new motto: There is no such thing as too much publicity.
Especially when it arrives as rave reviews of a project initially met with skepticism.
This month, architecture critics will flock to University City to review Penn's new bioengineering building, Skirkanich Hall.
Already being praised for its daring physical presence on 33rd Street and stylized exterior and interior design, Skirkanich was called Philadelphia's "best new building in years" by Philadelphia Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron.
Engineering Dean Eduardo Glandt anticipates architecture critics from about 10 national and international publications to attend Skirkanich's Oct. 26 dedication.
Skirkanich was designed by New York-based firm Tod Williams/Billie Tsien, a husband-and-wife team that won the Arup World Architecture Award for the best new building in the world - New York's Folk Art Museum - in 2002.
The School of Engineering and Applied Science - which U.S. News and World Report ranked No. 32 this year, down from No. 27- hopes to use the publicity to its advantage.
Glandt said the school has already added Skirkanich to its recruitment pitch, a move he hopes will bring in talented bioengineering faculty and students.
Penn is not alone in realizing the recruitment potential of eye-popping buildings.
Saffron said in an interview that many universities are increasingly using "status buildings" to draw in top faculty and students.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Swarthmore and Ursinus colleges are among the many schools considering state-of-the-art architecture and design as great a priority as the need for well-built facilities, Saffron said."
Skirkanich may also become a destination for "architectural pilgrims," she said, referring to those who travel to cities to see new architecture.-
Glandt said if the building does win architecture awards - and he's confident it will - it will further increase Skirkanich's potential to "become a destination."
Getting the word out about Skirkanich has been a joint effort between Engineering and Facilities and Real Estate Services.
Glandt said press releases sent out were tailored to the intended audience.
He added that his office informed "the engineering community [about Skirkanich], with emphasis less on bricks and tiles that on labs."
Facilities spokesman Andrew Zitcer said the priority in his office was to bring in as many architecture critics and personalities as possible for the dedication.
Zitcer said that in addition to several major U.S. publications, noted European design publishers are coming to review Skirkanich.
Glandt said he also expects design reviewers from Japan to attend the dedication.
Although Saffron "jumped the gun" with her review, Glandt said, he has "been overwhelmed with e-mails from the whole planet."
Despite the initial positive response, Saffron said there is the potential for a negative reaction from other critics, as well as from architecture prize review boards.
The building's strengths are "more subtle," she said, but society prizes "attention grabbers."
Convincing the architecture community, as well as ordinary citizens, that Skirkanich's subtlety is what makes it just right for Philadelphia will be key to its success, she said.
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