Penn Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry

Penn Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry
Architectural Concept Design Leveraging Research in Robotic Fabrication and Computational Methods for Design-Engineering.
Status: Ongoing

The Penn Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry (CiPD) will be a new hub for interdisciplinary research collaborations between faculty from Penn Dental and SEAS to advance innovation and training in Dental Medicine, leveraging their strengths for assessing and creating new technologies to study disease mechanisms and develop solutions and devices to address unmet needs in oral health. A state-of-the-art building is proposed to show-case this state-of-the-art research. Located on Penn Dental Medicine’s campus, the building operates as a 'bridge' connecting the existing Evans, Schattner Center and Levy Center buildings. Innovative design-engineering principles and robotic fabrication methods are employed to enable the building to 'float' above an existing courtyard, preserving its garden and pedestrian pathways by utilizing a custom-engineered pilotis transfer structure that also doubles as a reflective ceiling to enhance the spatial experience of the courtyard below. The building incorporates several advanced environmental design concepts, including the integration of a rooftop greenhouse research facility into the overall building's heating and cooling system, alongside passive and active environmental management technologies. Envisaged as a flexible and socially engaging space, the floors of the building consist of re-configurable lab spaces and open meeting and gathering spaces that are connected to a central atrium and stair that is in visual dialogue with the courtyard. Penn's CiPD will be an open, active and engaging building that aims to foster collaboration, new discoveries and innovation.

Architectural Concept Design:
Autonomous Manufacturing Lab, Department of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania Weitzman School of Design
Director: Robert Stuart-Smith
Design Team: Patrick Danahy

Client: 
Dr. Hyun (Michel) Koo and Dean Mark Wolff, Penn Dental, University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators:
Dr. Hyun (Michel) Koo, Penn Dental, University of Pennsylvania
Ellen Neises & Julie Donofrio, Penn Praxis, University of Pennsylvania