WTW Architects and project partners have received the
Chicago Athenaeum's American Architecture Award for their design of
The Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) at
Penn State University. The national accolade recognizes design that combines cutting-edge processes with current design trends.
Located near Penn State's
Palmer Museum of Art and Hort Woods, SALA features offices, crit rooms, a ribbon-like space that connects to several floors, and individual study areas.
One of the first buildings on a U.S. college campus—and the first at Penn State—to receive a
LEED-Gold rating, the project was designed by WTW in collaboration with San Antonio-based
Overland Partners Architects and
LaQuatra Bonci Associates.
“The university wanted to create a standard for their buildings,” says Rich DeYoung, with WTW. “It’s a didactic tool, which was part of the school’s mission. It’s a teaching building where students learn firsthand.”
SALA’s green features include extensive daylighting, natural ventilation, underfloor heating and cooling, daylight sensors, and bioswales. Over 90% of the project’s construction materials were recycled.
“It’s one of only a few U.S. universities where the schools of architecture and landscape architecture are combined—it's more holistic. The design shows the strengths of the collaborative process,” adds DeYoung, who says that Penn State has seen a significant spike in program enrollment since SALA opened.
Writer:
Jennifer BaronSource: Rich DeYoung, president and CEO, WTW Architects
Image courtesy WTW Architects