KSS celebrates completion of 11,800 s/f academic building
Kennett Square, PA — KSS Architects has completed the Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square. The 11,800 s/f academic building is the first dedicated classroom facility at New Bolton Center, Penn Vet’s large-animal hospital and campus, and addresses the school’s long-standing need for modern, appropriately sized teaching and meeting space. The $17 million project is expected to open for student use this fall.
KSS designed the new academic building around three founding goals: multimodal learning, engagement, and site sensitivity. The Riepe Center is organized into two wings — one dedicated to classroom and informal learning space, the other housing a simulation laboratory equipped with high-fidelity veterinary simulators for large-animal training — arranged around a shared outdoor courtyard. Clerestory windows, natural materials, and framed views of New Bolton Center’s surrounding farmland root the building in its setting, while a biophilic, indoor-outdoor design approach supports student engagement and well-being.
“Our goal was to create an academic building that feels like it belongs in an agrarian landscape, one that supports hands-on, experiential learning while giving students and faculty a true sense of place,” said Petar Mattioni, AIA, LEED AP, partner, KSS Architects. “By organizing the building around an outdoor courtyard and bringing natural light and views of the farmland into every space, we created an environment where students can move seamlessly between simulation, instruction, and informal connection, all in service of preparing the next generation of large-animal veterinarians.”
The building’s vernacular forms and materials were chosen to reflect the working-farm character of New Bolton Center, while modern systems throughout give students hands-on experience with the clinical skills they will use in practice. The project reflects Penn Vet’s broader commitment to expanding experiential learning opportunities for its students. The Riepe Center also embodies KSS’ core philosophy that immersive experiential learning is most effective when theory and practice unfold side by side. The firm designs its academic spaces to give students direct, applied experience, building the confidence and competence they’ll carry into their careers.
During the ribbon-cutting for the new Riepe Center, Andrew M. Hoffman, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM, Penn Vet’s Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine, highlighted how the center’s healthy location, natural environment, and outdoor spaces support the educational vision of Penn’s founder, Benjamin Franklin.
“You need only experience the Riepe Center, inside and out, on such a beautiful day as today, to recognize that all of these elements have come together to Ben Franklin’s specifications,” said Hoffman.
Led by partners, Petar Mattioni, AIA, LEED AP, Mayva Donnon, AIA, LEED AP, and principal Andy Sniderman, AIA, the KSS project team included: Ryan Dougherty, AIA, Jessica Mangin, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Jesse Wilks, AIA, Elizabeth Heldridge, RA, and Michael Grauer, AIA, CDT, LEED AP. KSS collaborated with MPP Engineers, LLC, structural engineering; Trefz Engineering, MEP engineering; Pennoni, civil engineering; Studio Sustena, landscape architecture; Wagner Architecture, veterinary consultant; WSP, IT/security design, and Gardner/Fox, Contractor.
