Perfido, Wesikopf, Wagstaff, and Goettel

Information Sciences and Technology Building, Penn State

State College, PA

This project, in collaboration with Rafael Vinoly, is a signature for PSU’s School of Information Sciences and Technology. The design has a raised pedestrian crossing that literally bridges the divide separating PSU’s original campus from its new West Campus.

This crossing, with the structure’s interior transparency, allows students and the public to capture scenes from the academic and technological milieu within. A two-story atrium with a cafe and retail space brings people together throughout the day.

IST’s program required spaces for administrative and instructional use, and computer research labs with intensive mechanical and electrical demands. The building’s form represents elements of the school: Administrative at the base, and instructional on the bridge level, both rendered in masonry with glazed curtainwall to reveal interior views. On the third level, labs occupy a raised glass-and-metal-panel “hull” which curves over the pedestrian crossing reconciling the main axes of the two campuses.