“Research at Weitzman I”

Research at Weitzman I

Plaza Gallery | Meyerson Hall, Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Philadelphia, PA
September 16 - September 20, 2026

// Research at Weitzman was a week-long exhibition showcasing the breadth of faculty research at the University of Pennsylvania's Weitzman School of Design. Bringing together work across the school's research labs, the exhibition presented an array of investigations, methodologies, and material explorations, making the processes and outcomes of contemporary design research accessible to the broader school community. The exhibition was conceived as a field of cubes, establishing a modular spatial framework in which research projects of varying disciplines, types, and scales could be presented with equal prominence. Distributed across the gallery in a regular grid, the cubes created a landscape of individual displays, inviting visitors to meander through the installation rather than follow a prescribed sequence. This nonhierarchical arrangement encouraged unexpected encounters between projects, allowing visitors to construct their own relationships among the diverse bodies of work on display.

At the center of the installation, a larger informational cube functioned as the exhibition's organizational and technological nerve center. Incorporating a map of QR codes linking to individual research projects alongside laptop presentations of ongoing laboratory work, the central structure served as both an informational resource and a point of orientation within the gallery. Concealed within this central volume was the equipment controlling a series of projectors, which extended the exhibition beyond the physical grid through large-scale projections mapped onto the surrounding gallery walls. This interplay between discrete objects and immersive imagery established complementary scales of engagement, connecting the individual research displays to a larger collective environment. Together, the field of cubes, central information hub, and projected imagery transformed the gallery into an open landscape of research and discovery. By employing a consistent modular system without imposing a hierarchy among the exhibited works, Research at Weitzman emphasized the diversity and interconnectedness of the school's research culture. The installation positioned visitors as active participants in navigating and interpreting the exhibition, allowing relationships between projects to emerge through movement, proximity, and exploration.

installation team: Jonathan Bonezzi, Ryan Lane, Nicholas Radziewicz

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