Lauder College House renamed at Penn
September 5, 2019 — The University of Pennsylvania held a renaming event for the Lauder College House, formerly known as New College House upon opening in 2016.
Building on the decades-strong tradition of vibrant living learning communities at Penn, Lauder College House is named in honor of three generations of a family committed to realizing the first purpose-built college house at Penn.
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed Lauder College House to be a seamless blend of building and landscape. It embodies the vibrancy of its urban setting and brings together undergraduates, faculty, staff, and graduates in a shared community, to promote engagement of residents to each other, the campus, the city, and the world. The seven-story, 198,000 GSF facility embraces the many scales of community that define the collegiate experience at Penn.
Hundreds of current and former residents, faculty, alumni and Lauder College House friends gathered for the renaming celebration in the Heyman Courtyard, the centerpiece of the Lauder College House community.
In welcoming remarks to all the guests, House Director Cam Grey noted, “In August of 2016, this beautiful building opened its doors to its inaugural community of 363 residents . . . And it is from this building, above all, that we have taken the cues for the community we have begun to construct.”
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson was proud to collaborate with the Lauder family and the visionaries at Penn such as President Gutmann to find a beautiful expression of the pedagogy that makes Penn a stellar community. The design team included Michael Vergason Landscape Architects, CVM Structural Engineers, AHA Consulting Engineers (MEPFP and Sustainability) and Pennoni (Civil Engineering).
Following the success of Lauder College House at the eastern gateway to the campus, Penn invited Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to design a second college house at the western gateway to the campus. New College House West is in construction and will open in Fall of 2021.
Further Reading:
The Daily Pennslyvanian: Penn renames New College House after Lauder Family
Penn Today: Lauder College House named
Alamac: Celebrating the Naming of Lauder College House
