Weitzman School

Emily Zimmerman, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs at the Arthur Ross Gallery, introduces ‘Under Scores: 2026 Weitzman Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition,’ featuring the work of eight graduating student artists. ⁠ ⁠ The exhibition is on view through May 31 in two campus venues, the Arthur Ross Gallery the Gordon Gallery.⁠ ⁠ In the second of two videos, Zimmerman introduces work by Sol Kim, Dylan Li, Jingyi Ling, and Shay Myerson.⁠ ⁠ On Saturday, May 16, join Zimmerman for an in-person tour of the exhibition, presented as part of Alumni Weekend.⁠ ⁠ Link for event information in stories.⁠

Emily Zimmerman, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs at the Arthur Ross Gallery, introduces ‘Under Scores: 2026 Weitzman Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition,’ featuring the work of eight graduating student artists. ⁠ ⁠ The exhibition is on view through May 31 in two campus venues, the Arthur Ross Gallery the Gordon Gallery.⁠ ⁠ In the first of two videos, Zimmerman introduces work by Ana González, Cacie Rosario Jackson, Noa Mori Machover, and Ambika Trasi. ⁠ ⁠ On Saturday, May 16, join Zimmerman for an in-person tour of the exhibition, presented as part of Alumni Weekend.⁠ ⁠ Link for event information in stories.⁠

Telling stories about Philly’s Market Street, linking the past to its possible futures. This piece of the extraordinary Meantime @meantimephl activation of Market East with Center City District @centercitydistrict and the City of Philadelphia @cityofphiladelphia was the work of Penn Preservation and Architecture graduate students Shen-Tzu Chen, Iqra Khalid, Zhijie Wang, Margaret Balich, Jonathan Bonezzi and Ryan Lane working with Randy Mason, Ashley Hahn and Darcy Van Buskirk on a public culmination of the Weitzman School’s @weitzman_school interdisciplinary Studio+ led by Randy, Brian Phillips, and Miles Owen. Thank you for noticing Praxis, Inga! @inga_saffron We are proud to start conversation with all these amazing designers, including @itscoolimgood_ @trble.shooter @almostfamous.us ; Siddiq, Praxis’ favorite West Philly water ice artist @siddiqswaterice , and the gracious music guide of @clubfriendsradioandrecords . Bring on the street life!

More than 300 people filled two campus galleries during the opening of “Under Scores: 2026 Weitzman MFA Thesis Exhibition” featuring new work created by eight graduating students, the culmination of two years of study for a Master of Fine Arts degree. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Department of Fine Arts at the Weitzman School of Design and the Arthur Ross Gallery to present the work of artists Ana González, Cacie Rosario Jackson, Sol Kim, Dylan Li, Jingyi Ling, Noa Mori Machover, Shay Myerson, and Ambika Trasi. The exhibition was curated by Emily Zimmerman, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs at the Arthur Ross Gallery. For the first time the annual exhibition, on view through May 31, is in two campus venues: the Arthur Ross Gallery at the Fisher Fine Arts Library building and the Gordon Gallery at Weitzman Hall. Read all about it in our “Gallery Seen” blog post, link in bio and comments. Photos by Eric Sucar @weitzman_school @weitzman_finearts

In their teaching and their practice, Weitzman faculty are helping museums in the US and abroad deepen connections to their site and community. ⁠ ⁠ 1) “Architecture’s role is to fulfill the needs of the clients by shaping the gallery spaces in the way that will work best for the institution,” says Daniel Markiewicz, an associate professor of practice in architecture, whose Master of Architecture students designed an addition to Penn’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Work by Chenxi Li.⁠ 2) Associate Professor of Architecture Ferda Kolatan leads an Advanced Architectural Design studio working in the city of Side on Turkey’s southern coast at an archaeological site with ancient architectural artifacts. Students are charged with designing a new archaeological museum using the ancient building remains that still exist on the site. Work by Eugene Chen and Xiaofeng Mo.⁠ 3) For Marion Weiss, Graham Professor of Practice in Architecture and co-founder of the firm, the competition for the Nelson-Atkins commission was “one of the most extraordinary opportunities we could think of.” WEISS/MANFREDI's design (left) follows a 2007 addition by Steven Holl (right). "Museums need to transcend their traditional bounded identities," says Weiss.⁠ 4) WEISS/MANFREDI's design for the La Brea Tar Pits Page Museum in Los Angeles⁠ 5) "We reject rigid dichotomies in favor of more entangled tensions that sustain the viewer’s attention over time,” says Ferda Kolatan of his MSD-AAD studio. (Photo: Dylan Li)⁠ 6) Yichen He and Hannah Xu's design for the site in Side, Turkey⁠ ⁠ These are just a few of the museums that Weitzman faculty have engaged with in recent years.⁠ ⁠ Read the full story. Link in stories. ⁠ ⁠ @forma.ny ⁠ @ferdak ⁠ @weissmanfredi ⁠ @penn.weitzman.aad ⁠

Kicking off the Spring 2026 final reviews was David Gouverneur’s interdisciplinary course CPLN 6650: Case Studies and Urban Design Exploration. The course immerses students from across the school in the transformation of a contemporary city to improve residents’ quality of life. ⁠ ⁠ Weitzman caught up with Gouverneur, an associate professor of practice in city and regional planning, after a marathon review at Meyerson Hall.⁠ ⁠ To learn more about Weitzman’s strategic priorities, including Designing Healthier Cities, see link in bio.⁠ ⁠ Work by:⁠ Andrea Wu, Ethan Miller, Darren Sun: Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo dei Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio⁠ Chelsea Caro, Andrea Wu, Jenny Su: Public Art for Social and Environmental Advocacy in Philadelphia⁠

Opening Celebration, tomorrow, Thursday, April 30, 5-8 pm! "Under Scores: 2026 Weitzman Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition" at both the historic Arthur Ross Gallery in the Fisher Fine Arts Library and the new Gordon Gallery in Weitzman Hall! Join us in honoring the next generation of artists at Penn as they present bold, thought-provoking work across disciplines, reflecting two years of intensive research and creative exploration. Enjoy refreshments, conversation, and a vibrant sense of community as you connect with the artists and experience the energy of this dynamic showcase. Speakers include Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw, Inaugural Faculty Director of the Arthur Ross Gallery; Sharon Hayes, Professor and Chair of Fine Arts at the Weitzman School of Design; and exhibition curator Emily Zimmerman, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs at the Arthur Ross Gallery. Registration link in bio and in comments. @weitzman_finearts @weitzman_school

Currently a Rome Prize fellow, landscape architect Sean Burkholder, associate professor of landscape architecture, is just the latest in a long line of distinguished Weitzman faculty to earn a fellowship at the renowned American Academy in Rome. In his practice, he works with communities in New York, New Jersey, and the Great Lakes region to strengthen coastal resilience.⁠ ⁠ Each receives a stipend, lodgings, private workspace, and chance to commune not only with a vibrant international cohort of creative professionals and scholars but also with the city of Rome itself.⁠ ⁠ “We’ve had Penn architects, preservationists, and landscape architects earn the prize,” says Dean Fritz Steiner, who describes the experience as “life-changing.”⁠ ⁠ 1) Professor of Historic Preservation Randy Mason’s studio at the Academy. During his 2013 fellowship, he studied the Roman architect Gustavo Giovannoni. (Photo: Randy Mason)⁠ 2) A fellow at the Academy this spring, Sean Burkholder is deepening his drawing practice as well as his research and pedagogy. ⁠ 3) Professor of Landscape Architecture Karen M’Closkey in her studio at the Academy in 2013. “You’re eating lunches and dinners with the other fellows who got the prize in landscape architecture, design, architecture, preservation and so on,” she says.⁠ 4) Fritz Steiner hosts visitors to his studio at the Academy in 2014. “It’s pretty common to come with one idea of what you’re going to do, and then do something else entirely,” he says.⁠ ⁠ Read the full story. Link in stories. ⁠ ⁠ @amacademyrome ⁠ @fredericksteiner ⁠ @landscape_affairs ⁠ @rfmason ⁠

DumoLab Research at the Weitzman School of Design, directed by Assistant Professor of Architecture Dr. Laia Mogas Soldevila, has partnered with Meantime, a project of Weitzman faculty member Brian Phillips, founding Principal and creative director of ISA, and uCitySquare, to activate storefronts in West Philadelphia and showcase cutting-edge sustainable architecture from biomaterials. On display are DumoLab’s newest bio-composite research on hyperlocal material cycles forming 3m-domes, chemically-interactive earthen tiles and panels, food-waste-based shingles, and furniture from juicing pulp. “Ramusumar” soundscape by Eugene Lew composed from scores of  wet and dry hardware throughout Ramus Dome manufacturing process. DumoLab’s storefront will be exhibited until May 31st at 3616 Lancaster Ave., Philadelphia. @dumolab @meantimephl @ucitysquare @isaphila #weitzmanschoolofdesign #penndesign #upenn #architecture

Philadelphia-based artist Cacie Rosario Jackson translates electronic circuitry into works of art that connect Black culture, memory, music, and community with the built environment. In completing her second year in the Master of Fine Arts program (@weitzman_finearts ) at Penn’s Weitzman School of Design (@weitzman_school ), Jackson researched the Chitlin Circuit, a network of Black music venues in the U.S. that operated primarily between the 1930s and 1970s. This body of work features found diagrams of electronic circuits that she re-interprets and burns into wood with a soldering iron. Set to graduate in May, she is one of eight second-year MFA candidates who will have their work on view in "Under Scores: 2026 Weitzman Fine Arts MFA Thesis Exhibition" May 1-31 in the Arthur Ross Gallery, and the Gordon Gallery in the newly renovated Weitzman Hall. The exhibition is curated by Emily Zimmerman, Arthur Ross Gallery Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs (@emilyfzimm ). Please join us for the opening celebration this Thursday, April 30, from 5-8 p.m. Event link in bio above! And please read all about Jackson, her research, her artmaking, and her journey at Penn in a story on our websites, link in bios and in comments. Photos of Jackson by Eric Sucar @ericsucar Artwork photos courtesy of the artist @crosariophoto Collaborators: @weitzman_school @weitzman_finearts #ArthurRossGallery #WeitzmanFineArts #2026MFAExhibition #ContemporaryArt #PhiladelphiaArtist

From the Archives What if modern cities, homes, and schools were built underground? Introducing Malcolm Wells. Born in 1926 and practicing from 1953, Malcolm Wells was an underground architecture designer, writer, and advocate for building construction to support naturally occurring systems in a time of modernist and postmodern aesthetics. Known for projects including the Cherry Hill Public Library, the Clifford Ellis House, and for designing his own house to explore architecture embedded in the earth, Well’s interest in developing an environmentally conscientious infrastructure is strongly evidenced in his lively perspectives, illustrations, and notes. A project rubric published in 1968, titled “Absolutely Constant Incontestably Stable Architectural Value Scale”, challenges architects to assess their designs and site considerations in relation to its effects on water, air, natural habitats, and noise. Wells was also a writer. Books including “Gentle Architecture”, “Infra Structures” and the “Underground Plans Book” illustrate his interest and advocacy for the environment to a larger audience. Describing his own epiphany in “Gentle Architecture”, he lamented, “As I began to look back over all my…works, at all the factories, offices and churches I’d produced, I found that I’d already paved to death over 50 acres of the American land. Those 50 acres had been wiped out in order to provide a single species with shelter.” In honor of Earth Week, please take a moment to enjoy the vibrant work of Wells! Would you like to design for a world built underground? If you’d like to dig a little deeper into the Malcolm Wells collection, the Architectural Archive is open to students and non-students through research appointments and organized tours. For more information, please visit sign.upenn.edu/architectural-archives/collections or contact the Architectural Archives at [email protected] #weitzmanschoolofdesign #weitzmanarchitecture #universityofpennsylvania #architecturalarchives #architecture

Congratulations to Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA on being named the 39th recipient of the Louis I. Kahn Award, given by Design Philadelphia. Kazuyo Sejima is the Paul Phillipe Cret Visiting Professor in the Department of Architecture at the Weitzman School of Design. With her partner, Ryue Nishizawa, their renowned Tokyo-based architecture firm, SANAA, is celebrated for its elegant, minimalist architecture that emphasizes light, transparency, and openness. The firm creates buildings that blur the boundaries between interior and exterior, encouraging movement, interaction, and connection to the surrounding environment. Their work is defined by simplicity, clarity, and a deeply human-centered approach to space. Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / S A N A A was selected for the 2026 Louis I. Kahn Award due to their profound contributions to contemporary architecture, and their ability to create innovative, sustainable designs that resonate both culturally and aesthetically. Their work exemplifies the spirit of the Louis I. Kahn Award, and DesignPhiladelphia is honored to present them with this prestigious recognition. Founded in 1983, the annual Louis I. Kahn Award is Philadelphia’s signature event honoring individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture. The event celebrates these achievements in memory of the storied career of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn—widely considered the most critically acclaimed Modernist American architect and designer. Past Kahn awardees include Kengo Kuma, WEISS/MANFREDI, Herzog & de Meuron, KieranTimberlake, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Bjarke Ingels, Sir David Adjaye, Lord Norman Foster, Peter Bohlin, Daniel Liebskind, Robert A.M. Stern, Rafael Viñoly, and César Pelli. @weitzman_arch @sanaa_jimusho @designphilly #louisikahnaward #weitzmanschoolofdesign #penndesign #upenn #architecture