2017 AL Design Awards: Stephen A. Levin Building, University of Pennsylvania

Special Citation • For a Façade’s Treatment and Modulation of Light

1 MIN READ
Detail of the scrim.

Alan Karchmer

Detail of the scrim.

A view of the building at dusk.

Alan Karchmer

A view of the building at dusk.

A main component of the design for the Stephen A. Levin Building at the University of Pennsylvania is the scrim on its southern-facing façade. Home to the departments of biology and psychology, the building is intended to foster interdisciplinary collaboration between the students and faculty members of those disciplines. The scrim’s “biomorphic” patterns also advertise to the campus at large the study of neural and behavioral sciences within.

View of the scrim wall corridor during the day.

Alan Karchmer

View of the scrim wall corridor during the day.

The scrim projects dynamic patterns into the collaborative work space at the end of the corridor.

Alan Karchmer

The scrim projects dynamic patterns into the collaborative work space at the end of the corridor.

Daylighting analysis determined that shading density and the scrim pattern aids in modulating the amount of daylight that enters the building, helping to create “visually comfortable environments.” It also allowed the architects and lighting designers at SmithGroupJJR to balance the use of “electric daylight harvesting with mechanical solar load reduction.” Electric lighting isn’t needed during the day and solar gain is reduced by 50 percent.

At night, the scrim acts as a veil, subtly revealing the building's interiors.

Alan Karchmer

At night, the scrim acts as a veil, subtly revealing the building's interiors.

At night, the building transforms and the “brightness hierarchy established during the day” is reversed. Interior lighting illuminates the façade, a glow from within from LED wallwashers and 4-inch-aperture downlights in the corridor behind the scrim, which give the building a sense of depth and allows it to be read from a distance.

Section lighting detail for the interior lighting behind the scrim.

Courtesy SmithGroupJJR

Section lighting detail for the interior lighting behind the scrim.

Jury Comments
The use of the scrim to diffuse the natural light entering the building is nicely done. • The scrim pattern adds visual interest and has a distinct daytime and nighttime appearance.


Details
Project: Stephen A. Levin Building, the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia • Client: The University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia • Architect and Lighting Designer: SmithGroupJJR, Detroit • Lighting Team Members: Matt Alleman, Leland Curtis • Photographer: Alan Karchmer • Project Size: 77,000 square feet • Project Cost: $68.6 million • Lighting Cost: $1.025 million • Watts per Square Foot: 0.7 • Code Compliance: ASHRAE 90.1-2007 • Manufacturers: a-Light, Bartco Lighting, EcoSense, Finelite, Hubbell Lighting/Litecontrol, Hubbell Lighting/Prescolite, Kreon, LED Linear, Philips Color Kinetics, We-ef, XAL, Zumtobel

About the Author

Elizabeth Donoff

Elizabeth Donoff is Editor-at-Large of Architectural Lighting (AL). She served as Editor-in-Chief from 2006 to 2017. She joined the editorial team in 2003 and is a leading voice in the lighting community speaking at industry events such as Lightfair and the International Association of Lighting Designers Annual Enlighten Conference, and has twice served as a judge for the Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section’s (IESNYC) Lumen Award program. In 2009, she received the Brilliance Award from the IESNYC for dedicated service and contribution to the New York City lighting community. Over the past 11 years, under her editorial direction, Architectural Lighting has received a number of prestigious B2B journalism awards. In 2017, Architectural Lighting was a Top Ten Finalist for Magazine of the Year from the American Society of Business Publication Editors' AZBEE Awards. In 2016, Donoff received the Jesse H. Neal Award for her Editor’s Comments in the category of Best Commentary/Blog, and in 2015, AL received a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Media Brand (Overall Editorial Excellence).Prior to her entry into design journalism, Donoff worked in New York City architectural offices including FXFowle where she was part of the project teams for the Reuters Building at Three Times Square and the New York Times Headquarters. She is a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Me., and she earned her Master of Architecture degree from the School of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.

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