1960’s Classrooms Transformed to Active Learning
Stiteler Hall dates from 1963 and is one of four buildings in the University of Pennsylvania’s Social Sciences Quad. Stiteler houses several large classrooms shared by the Graduate School of Education (GSE) and Penn’s Central Pool Classroom system. Two tiered-floor classrooms were converted to active, collaborative learning classrooms for this renovation, which are designed to support learning strategies by actively engaging students with course content through structured activities such as problem solving and data interpretation. The rooms are primarily used as pool classrooms during the week and by the GSE’s Executive Education program on the weekends.
The new design included the removal of existing non-bearing brick walls within the classrooms and the removal of the exterior, opaque, precast concrete wall, creating two larger, rectangular classrooms. The new exterior wall along Penn’s 37th Street Walk incorporates full-height, custom profile windows that complement the existing building fenestration. Opening up the exterior wall with expansive glazing brings daylight deep into the former windowless rooms, creating an airy and inviting space. An access flooring system maximized future flexibility and an operable acoustic partition between the rooms allows them to be used as two separate classrooms or as one large space. Interior renovations included all new finishes and lighting, new AV systems, and renovations to the HVAC system.
Project Team:
Structural Engineer: Keast & Hood; MEP Engineer and Lighting Design: AKF; Acoustic Consultant: Metropolitan Acoustics; Cost Consultant: Envision
