Photo © Jeffrey Totaro

New College House on the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) campus in Philadelphia is the first new student residence constructed at Penn since 1972. The seven-story building features 43,000 square feet of Vitro Architectural Glass fabricated by J.E. Berkowitz (JEB).

Philadelphia-based Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) designed the 198,000-square-foot building to reflect the architecture of older buildings on campus by using traditional building materials, such as brick and limestone. However, New College House features significantly more glass to provide natural daylighting, according to Dana Reed, project manager and senior associate at BCJ.

Photo © Jeffrey Totaro

“Glass played an integral role in reaching our design goals,” Reed says. “Large expanses of glass express the social and academic purpose of New College House. Ornamental brick areas housing suites and bedrooms undulate along the city street, while shaded glass towers punctuate the residential bays that contain suite living rooms and common spaces.”

For the project, JEB fabricated one-inch Winduo insulating glass units (IGUs) incorporating low-E Solarban 70XL glass in both vision and custom silkscreened units. Wausau Window and Wall Systems curtainwall, installed by National Glass & Metal, was used on the project.

Reed says “the glass specification works with sunshades to reduce solar heat gain in areas that use daylighting as a sustainable expression of the building’s welcoming and collaborative spaces.”

Upon completion, New College House was on track to earn LEED certification at the Silver level from the U.S. Green Building Council. In addition to its high-performance façade, the building features a green roof, high-efficiency fixtures, and energy recovery units.