The Westgate Building, formerly known as Information Sciences and Technology Building (commonly known as the ''IST Building'') is a classroom building at
Pennsylvania State University. Construction was completed in January 2004.
The building was designed by the acclaimed architect
Rafael Vinoly
Rafael may refer to:
* Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin
* Rafael, California
* Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology
* Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane
Fiction
* ''R ...
. According to the Penn State IST website, the design of the building "began as an inkpen sketch on a paper dinner napkin." He characterizes the building as "a labor of love . . . my own personal obsession for years", stating that, in the beginning, it seemed "crazy and extreme" to construct an S-shaped building over North Atherton Street. According to the Penn State IST Website, "His firm, Rafael Vinoly Architects,
New York, partnered with Perfido Weiskopf Architects,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
, for the design inspired by the
Ponte Vecchio
The Ponte Vecchio ("Old Bridge", ) is a Middle Ages, medieval stone closed-spandrel Circular segment, segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, Florence, Italy. The only bridge in Florence spared from destruction during the ...
in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
." Despite its name, this building currently is the home of both the Pennsylvania State University
Computer Science
Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includi ...
department, in addition to the IST department.
In order to "better represent the building’s many uses", the building was renamed the Westgate Building.
References
Penn State Electrical Engineering and Computer Science DepartmentPenn State College of Information Sciences and Technology
;Notes
Pennsylvania State University
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