The new Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024. (Image courtesy of Behnisch Architekten)
Penn’s Board of Trustees approved the design for the new Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology at 3200 Walnut Street.
The $173 million facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2024, consolidating energy research programs by providing 110,000 square feet of laboratory space, Penn Today reported. The building will house the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology and the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research.
The facility is funded by donations totaling $70 million from Roy and Diana Vagelos, Penn Today reported. Their initial $50 million donation in 2019 was the largest in the history of the School of Arts and Sciences. The couple later donated another $20 million to expand the building’s design from six to seven stories, Penn Today reported.
The new structure, located next to David Rittenhouse Laboratory, will serve as an energy and sustainability-focused research hub for both the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Penn Today reported. It will include wet chemistry research labs and optics research labs for researchers in both schools.
The facility will also include collaborative spaces and offices with energy-efficient features, such as radiant heating and cooling systems and shading devices on the eastern and western facades, which will minimize glare on the building, Penn Today reported.
Construction is expected to begin in March 2022, and completion of the facility is anticipated in fall 2024, Penn Today reported.
“We are so grateful to Roy and Diana for their enduring support of Penn’s groundbreaking research in the area of energy research and sustainable energy solutions,” Penn President Amy Gutmann told Penn Today.
“Their tremendous generosity and trust in Penn’s collaborative approach, bringing Penn’s world-renowned physical scientists and engineers together to solve scientific and technological problems related to alternative sources of energy and energy use and storage, is a testament to Penn leadership and innovation in seeking a sustainable future.”
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