Daniela Holt Voith, IIDA, AIA, LEED AP, is a founding principal of Voith & Mactavish Architects. Holding degrees from Yale University School of Architecture and Bryn Mawr College, Daniela is at the forefront of her field in both design theory and realized projects. She lectures frequently to the educational and design communities and often serves on juries for professional awards in architectural design and construction quality. In addition, Daniela has also consistently sought out opportunities to make a positive impact on the greater urban context of Philadelphia. She is a past president of AIA Philadelphia where she also served on the board and a former Director of the Philadelphia Foundation for Architecture. She has been Principal-in-charge of prominent renovations at Penn Law and the Wharton School’s first LEED Gold for Commercial Interiors project. She has been kind enough to share her work at Penn Law with us.
What was the makeup of your team for this project?
The work has been carried out over the summer months and in phases over the course of 8 years. The team has changed according to the needs of the projects. Key players have been Sennah Loftus, LEED AP, Associate, Voith & Mactavish Architects, Eve Wildrick, President, Executive Interiors, Brad Randall, partner, Bruce E. Brooks & Associates (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing Engineers), Luke Tigue, Tigue Lighting, and Dean Dukakis, Keast & Hood Company (Structural Engineers).
Contractors throughout the phases include W.S. Cumby & Son, Inc., C. Erickson and Sons, Inc., Flatiron Building Co., Nason Construction, Inc. Cost estimation was conducted by Becker & Frondorf.
What was the client’s main goal for the buildings?
In 2004 we began a comprehensive planning effort for the existing 305,000 sf of space at Penn Law to create more usable space while optimizing an atmosphere of scholarly exchange. The Dean values the spirit of collegiality on campus and wanted to improve the efficiency of the buildings already in existence. The school wanted to improve their student amenities, clinic/outreach space and increase the pool of medium sized classrooms.
In the first phase the biggest issue was the reconfiguration of the School’s four largest and most frequently used classrooms. These classrooms maintained undesirable characteristics including bad acoustics, meager projection and display board function, plus an uncomfortable corner location for instructors. They wished to update these teaching spaces to integrate technology and support the Socratic method.
How long did this project take from start to finish?
The project began in 2004 and is currently in its fifth phase, scheduled for completion in 2012. At least one phase of work will follow.
What preparation did you do before the actual designing began?
This space–planning and renovation project was born when Penn Law called for additional space in their currently maximized facilities. We surveyed the school community to determine their programmatic priorities, and then looked for opportunities to improve the function, efficiency, and aesthetics of the school by matching program elements with new locations, reconfiguring locations, and planning for upgrades in building systems—lighting, HVAC, telecommunications and audiovisual—as well as finishes and furnishings. A master plan to reprogram space then followed.
How much did you deviate from what the client requested, if at all?
There was no deviation from the client requests.
How did the University work with you and your team in creating and carrying out this project?
The school was very forthcoming when it came to outlining their needs and desires for programmatic renovations. The law school has a building committee, headed by a professor and comprised of faculty, facilities staff, associate dean, IT department, and students. We met with them on a monthly basis to make decisions.
What was the biggest challenge when renovating the buildings?
Penn Law is comprised of four buildings that were built at different times in various styles. Each building had different construction methodologies and unique systems that had to be taken into consideration. A lot of attention to survey and educated assumptions early on was important, but also the ability to adapt to discoveries that were made throughout the process.
Another issue was the desire to preserve an interior courtyard formed by the campus’s four buildings: Gittis Hall, Silverman Hall, Pepper Hall and Tanenbaum Hall. Any disruption to the existing building footprint or addition to building height would intrude upon the courtyard or cast it in shadow. Therefore all renovations were confined to the interior of each building.
What feature/aspect are you the most proud of?
The buildings are being utilized by students and faculty as they were intended, promoting collegiality by providing spaces, such as the refurbished corridors that open to social areas.
What do you hope the students at the University of Pennsylvania Law School will say in response to the renovations?
We hope that the built environment around them aided in their education and their ability to be a leader in their chosen profession.
Photos © Jeffrey Totaro
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In Spaces is a blog series on DesignMatters in which we feature Member-designed projects and spaces. If you have a project you’d like to share, send a press release or write up along with hi-res photos to communications@iida.org. Please include “In Spaces” in your email subject line.
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