PAYETTE Project Receives 2016 SCUP Award

One of our planning projects earned a Merit Award from the SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Planning award program. The Health Sciences Campus Framework Plan at Temple University provides a flexible framework to guide future development of the University’s Health Sciences Campus in North Philadelphia.

The Plan provides a lifeline to the Tioga and Hunting Park neighborhoods of North Philadelphia, an area that has long struggled with crime, poverty and abandonment. True to its roots and its mission, Temple has maintained an active presence in this declining part of the city, serving the community’s healthcare needs for over a century. Home to Temple’s School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Professions and the Kornberg School of Dentistry, the HSC campus is anchored by Temple University Hospital, founded in 1892 as Samaritan Hospital, which provided free care for anyone unable to afford treatment.

While the mission of the HSC is clear – to train tomorrow’s healthcare providers, advance health science research and care for the residents of North Philadelphia and beyond – the existing physical campus fails to reflect Temple’s aspirations both internally and externally. The various schools are isolated in discrete buildings, and there are few opportunities for students and faculty from the various schools to come together for intellectual and social exchange. The campus does not offer a welcoming presence to the neighborhood and at times turns its back on those who need it most. A new framework plan is needed to provide a vision for the campus’ future and to guide its redevelopment over the next 20 years.