Skirkanich Hall

New Home for Bioengineering

The University and School have undertaken a major new initiative in bioengineering, involving a substantial expansion of the faculty and the construction of Skirkanich Hall, a 58,000 square foot research and teaching facility. This project springs from a $14 million Leadership Development Award from the Whitaker Foundation, and a generous $10 million gift from Overseer and Trustee Peter Skirkanich (W'65) and his wife Geri - the largest gift by an individual in Penn Engineering's history. Peter Skirkanich is founder and president of Fox Asset Management, a New Jersey investment management and counseling firm. Groundbreaking is planned for October 17, 2003 on the site of the Pender Laboratory with demolition of Pender scheduled for the summer of 2003.

The architects for Penn Engineering's newest building are the husband and wife team of Tod Williams/Billie Tsien of New York. They are the designers of the Neurosciences Institute at La Jolla, California, and New York's American Folk Art Museum for which they won the Arup World Architecture Award for "best new building in the world." Williams and Tsien are known for bringing natural light to every corner of their buildings while paying strict attention to the structure's uses. Among those uses, Skirkanich Hall will provide labs and office space for the department of bioengineering, improve circulation through the School, create a grand entrance from 33rd Street, and be architecturally respectful of its historic neighbors, Towne and Moore.

See also, Facilities Services page about Skirkanich Hall.

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