University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business

San Francisco, California

Firm

Gensler

Client

University of Pennsylvania

Area

37,000 sq.ft.

Completion Date

02/2012

A harbinger of the ways in which campuses are evolving around the world, Wharton University’s San Francisco location is designed to create the experience of a campus on one floor of a historic loft building. The seamless, powerful classroom technology keeps students connected, and the many thoughtfully designed “in-between” spaces foster interaction among students, a hallmark of Wharton in Pennsylvania. Through technology that is virtually unseen, and design features that capture the feeling of the historic East Coast campus, students maintain strong ties to Wharton in Pennsylvania as they benefit from their San Francisco (and nearby Silicon Valley) location.
Wharton San Francisco sets the standard for business education; it required that the design team create an innovative learning and technologically sophisticated environment within this remarkable setting. Teams of students from both Wharton campuses regularly work on projects together. The design facilitated this teamwork by creating a real-time interactive learning environment that promotes collaboration seamlessly.
The space is divided into classrooms (containing 75 to 150 people), group study rooms, faculty offices, staff work spaces, and a large dining/event space designed for community outreach and entrepreneurial support efforts. A special emphasis was placed on in-between spaces; these serve as a catalyst for focused teaching engagement and social interaction. These open common areas evoke the courtyards on the East Coast campus, and provide students and staff with appealing places to work and unwind. The selected palette of natural materials within the historic shell, combined with the use of the latest technology, brings a uniquely West Coast expression of innovation to this campus of Wharton University.