The new, signature academic research building for the Wharton Business School will serve not only Wharton but the entire university. The WARB building will house a replacement of electrical substation #2 and reconnect Woodland Walk from 36th to 37th street. Four floors of research spaces, conference rooms, and flexible learning classrooms will be accented by a two-story atrium and large, daylight-filled, glass cantilevering corridors over Woodland Walk. The building will provide a connection to Joe’s Café as well as a pass-through into Steinberg Hall – Dietrich Hall. ..

The new, signature academic research building for the Wharton Business School will serve not only Wharton but the entire university. The WARB building will house a replacement of electrical substation #2 and reconnect Woodland Walk from 36th to 37th street. Four floors of research spaces, conference rooms, and flexible learning classrooms will be accented by a two-story atrium and large, daylight-filled, glass cantilevering corridors over Woodland Walk. The building will provide a connection to Joe’s Café as well as a pass-through into Steinberg Hall – Dietrich Hall.

Located on a tight triangular site, the project is highly visible and experiences a large amount of pedestrian activity. Project challenges include accommodating complex construction phasing, navigating existing underground utilities, and avoiding an active SEPTA trolley tunnel bordering the site. The project’s sequencing necessitates construction of the new electrical switchgear housing before demolition of the existing underground substation and the subsequent construction of the surrounding Wharton Building.

The structure includes deep foundation caissons that were located to avoid the underground utilities, honor the Septa-mandated setback requirements from the trolley tunnel, and avoid undermining the existing foundations of the adjacent Steinberg-Dietrich building. The steel framed building uses a concrete flat plate slab/ post tension system at the first floor to span over the loading dock area that will service WARB and Steinberg-Dietrich. To allow for large glass corridors that cantilever out over the Woodland Walk side of the building, box trusses were designed to maximize floor to ceiling heights while accommodating MEP distribution throughout the building. Larger and heavily reinforced columns also serve as main column lines and help to support the four cantilevering floors while allowing for a thin structure.

Also included in the design is a two-story west side lobby space with a feature stair. A northern atrium spatially connects WARB and Steinberg-Dietrich and features a living wall and a fully-glazed curtainwall roof system supported by architecturally exposed structural steel rafters fabricated to create a custom profile.

CLIENT: MGA Partners Architects
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

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Final Photography ©HalkinMason Construction Photography ©JeffreyTotaro