A couple of days ago, we showed you some renderings of a new retail building at 15th & Walnut, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Today, we have another project to bring to your attention from the same architects, this time with a much larger footprint and on the other end of town.

Hill Field

At the corner of 33rd & Walnut, Hill College House stands as a relic to a long-outdated use. Originally built as a women’s dorm, the small windows and drawbridge-like entrance likely did more to assuage parental worries than keep men out of the building after it opened in the 1950s. The building was designed by Eero Saarinen, the guy who designed the Saint Louis Arch, which apparently gets better ventilation than some of the rooms at Hill House. Now a coed dorm, Hill is known for its tiny rooms, its dining hall, and its close proximity to Hill Field. But it seems that Hill Field, a large green space on Chestnut between 33rd and 34th Streets, is not long for this world.

This is coming soon

According to the Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn will be breaking ground on a new college house in January of 2014 at this location. The building will have 95 suites and will house 350 students, and will house a new dining hall as well. A courtyard will feature prominently into the design, with lounges, media rooms, music rooms, and study areas surrounding it.

What looks like the courtyard described above

The building will also have a green profile, aiming for a LEED Platinum certification. Construction materials will generally be procured locally, and the majority of waste from construction will be recycled rather than going to landfills. Energy efficiency will be quite high for the building, and a stormwater management plan will be enacted as well, utilizing a green roof among other strategies.

Another rendering of the courtyard

Some green space will remain but not much

About half of the $125M for the project has been raised to this point, but Penn is clearly confident that they’ll be able to get the college house built. Projected completion date is in time for the fall 2016 semester, and we’ll be sure to provide some updates once construction gets underway.