Tangen Hall
Tangen Hall is a toolbox for Penn students and alumni in their journey to turn innovative concepts into scalable and sustainable businesses.
Start Here
Tangen Hall is the physical “start here” button for our aspiring entrePENNeurs and innovators.  It houses Venture Lab and is a partnership by the Wharton School, Penn Engineering, and the Stuart Weitzman School of Design to consolidate Penn’s startup ecosystem and to provide experiential learning to all Penn students.

The building is made possible by the AKO Foundation, the charitable foundation established by Nicolai Tangen, W'92 and Katja Tangen.
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The Studios and Labs
At seven stories and 68,000-square-feet, Tangen Hall is the largest hub of its kind on any college campus.  It houses nine innovation spaces: the Fabrication Studios, Food Innovation Lab, Digital Media Lab, Digital Design Studio, and Retail Lab.

These studios and labs support hands-on activity such as designing, prototyping, building, and scaling  ventures.  Even without a technical background, Penn students will have the accessible tools and advisors to quickly transform their ideas into businesses.
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The Colloquium
The Colloquium is a co-working space for student and alumni leaders in Penn's entrepreneurial ecosystem.  This co-location facilitates interaction, promotes community-building, and fosters interdisciplinary collaboration for the benefit of all Penn startups. 

At 2,700 square feet, it is also the single largest space in Tangen, able to host over 200 visitors for entrepreneurship events, seminars, and large-scale workshops.
Tangen - Colloquium
Team Rooms
Along with a 36 seat Founder's Suite for our most advanced startups, Tangen offers 16 smaller team rooms and venture pods, equipped with state of the art livestreaming technology to facilitate experimentation and collaboration with anyone, anywhere.
Tangen - Venture Pod
Henry J. McCue Ideas Forum
The crossroads of brainstorming and innovation, the Henry J. McCue Ideas Forum is a modern co-working space for students to seek constructive feedback from their peers and roadmap the development of their product or service.
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Active Learning Rooms
The 7th floor houses two active learning rooms that seat up to 100 students and are fully equipped for livestreaming.  They are designed to facilitate structured activities in which students work to solve problems, interpret data or evidence, or otherwise engage in real practices in the discipline. 
Tangen - Active Learning Room
The Summit
An inviting co-working space ideal for collaboration, the Summit leads to the Rooftop Terrace. Along with the adjacent Active Learning Rooms, these spaces comprise the penthouse floor and can be used to host major entrepreneurship and innovation events at Penn.
Tangen - Summit and Outdoor Terrace
Apply for student membership to join our Venture Lab community and to access the studios, labs, team rooms, and more at Tangen Hall.

Reserve Your Space

To use our spaces in Tangen Hall, Penn students must first sign up for a membership to Venture Lab.
Reserve one of the small team rooms to work on your startup or to meet with investors.
Access the Fabrication Studios, the Food Innovation Lab, Digital Media Lab, Digital Design Studio, and Retail Lab
Click the link below to submit your request to host your next event at Tangen!
My grandfather, Henry J. McCue, had the biggest impact on my life and both encouraged and supported my dreams of a higher education and a career in finance. I hope the Henry J. McCue Ideas Forum inspires everyone passing through to dream big, take risks, and pay it forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Carol Curley, WG’81 Investor at Charian Ventures & Venture Lab Advisory Board Member
Venture Lab and Tangen Hall will support our students as never before with critical new resources, tools, and space for product development and business incubation.
Karl Ulrich, CIBC Endowed Professor & Senior Advisor to the Wharton Dean, Asia
Tangen Hall is a real game changer for Penn. With it we are creating a signature space, which manifests the innovation at the heart of a Penn education and the exploration that touches on every aspect of the Penn experience.
Amy Gutmann, President of the University of Pennsylvania

Tangen FAQs

You asked. We answered. See the full list of building policies here.
Where is Tangen Hall located?
Tangen Hall's official address is 115 S 40th Street, Philadelphia PA, 19104. The building's main entrance is on 40th Street, between Sansom and Chestnut Street.
What are the building's hours of operation?
Business hours are 7am-9pm from Monday to Friday.

After hours are 9pm-2am from Monday to Friday and 7am-2am on Saturday and Sunday.

What are the COVID policies and restrictions for Tangen Hall?
Access to Tangen Hall is subject to the COVID-19 operations policies set forth by the University of Pennsylvania.
How can I get into Tangen?
  • How can I get into Tangen?

    • During business hours

      • All Penn students, faculty, and staff with active Penn ID’s may swipe into Tangen.
      • Students who have access to Tangen may sign in up to 2 guests. Guests must be signed in at the front desk and present a government issued, photo ID.
    • After hours

      • Any Penn student with a Venture Lab membership may access Tangen
      • Penn faculty and staff whose departments are located in Tangen Hall have 24/7/365 PennCard access to the building.  Requests for faculty and staff access must be sent by the tenant’s administrative point of contact to TangenHall@VentureLab.upenn.edu.
    • All other guests 

      • All non-Penn guests must exit Tangen by 9:00pm due to University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety policies.
      • No guests are allowed to be signed in after 9pm.
    • Vendors who are providing business service or product may only access the building during business hours, except when rendering services during special events. Vendors must comply with building sign-in procedures and all Certificates of Insurance requirements.
Why is it harder to get into Tangen than other Penn buildings like Huntsman Hall?
Tangen is a "student entrepreneurship first" building and priority access is given to all Penn students, pending their successful application for a Venture Lab membership and compliance with all University COVID-19 measures.

For Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, building access is controlled for safety and operations reasons:
  • Tangen is located off-campus
  • Studios and labs require training and supervision in order to use the equipment. Noncompliance with government regulations can result in the loss of ability to operate spaces like the Food Innovation Lab.

As building operations ramp up, we will determine when and how to increase building access for Summer 2022.
What is a Tangen Hall Pass / Venture Lab Membership?
The Venture Lab membership program is for all currently enrolled Penn students with a valid PennKey. Apply here.

When approved, your Venture Lab membership benefits include:
  • Access to Tangen Hall on weekdays from 8 AM to 7 PM ET, excluding holidays and during suspension of normal operations by Penn (subject to change)
  • Access to the Spaces app to reserve rooms available to Venture Lab members in Tangen Hall on Floors 1 through 3
  • Access to the Canvas site for the Studios and Labs
  • Invitation to the Venture Lab Slack community
  • Enrollment in the Venture Lab Weekly Newsletter
How long does it take to process my Venture Lab membership application?
Venture Lab Membership benefits are processed within 3 days of application submission, excluding building access and room reservation. Building access to Tangen Hall and the ability to reserve rooms are processed on the 15th and 30th of each month and access is granted within 2 business days.
Which departments and centers are located in Tangen? i.e., who can I visit?
Tangen Hall houses Venture Lab which is a partnership by the Wharton School, Penn Engineering, and the Stuart Weitzman School of Design to consolidate Penn’s startup ecosystem and to provide experiential learning to all Penn students.

Other organizations located in Tangen Hall include the Integrated Product Design master’s level program, the Jay H. Baker Retail Center, the Harris Family Alternative Investments Program, the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance, and Wharton Computing and Information Technology.
Can I eat inside Tangen?  Are there designated eating areas?
Indoor eating can only take place in within the Colloquium from 11:30am to 1pm ET or inside closed offices. Eating is prohibited in all classrooms, conference rooms, team rooms, and public spaces, although drinking with a straw under your mask is acceptable.

There are other designated eating zones at Wharton.

Following University guidance, it is also recommended that pre-packaged meals (rather than buffets or open serve options) be utilized where possible when food is being provided.
What spaces can I use without a reservation, training, or supervision?
For Fall 2021, during business hours, Floors 1 to 4 are accessible to all visitors inside Tangen. Unrestricted spaces include:
  • Lobby (Room 100)
  • Retail Lab (Room 107)
  • Colloquium (Room 204)
  • Ideas Forum (Rooms 402 and 410)

Team rooms on floors 2, 3, and 4 are reservable but may be used by any students during time slots when they are unreserved.

After hours, only Floors 1 and 4 are accessible.
What spaces require a reservation, training, or supervision? How do I reserve team rooms, video-conferencing rooms, or get access to the Studios and Labs?
Small group meeting rooms are available on Venture Lab floors 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 and are reservable through the Wharton Spaces system.  The ability to book rooms is granted automatically in Spaces to the following groups:
  • During business hours, students successfully enrolled in the Venture Lab membership program may reserve the following rooms: 101, 203, 213, 323, 325, 336, 338, and 340
  • During all building open hours (business + after hours), students who are accepted into select Venture Lab programs may reserve the following video-conferencing rooms: 316, 318, 320, 702B, and 702C. These programs include VIP-X, Startup Challenge Award Winners, Summer Venture Award recipients, Innovation Fund (Investment Team only), Snider Consulting, and Weiss Student Directors

Venture Lab owns and operates the following innovation spaces as a collaboration between the Wharton School and Penn Engineering:
  • Engineering Studios (Rooms 108, 109, 113, 401, 416)
  • Retail Lab (Room 107)
  • Food Lab (Room 228) 
  • Digital Design Studio (Room 404) 
  • Digital Media Lab (Room 422)

Upon successful enrollment into Venture Lab’s membership program, Penn students will receive access to the Studios Canvas site, where they can apply to any and all of the innovation spaces to use their equipment and participate in their programming.  Except for the Retail Lab, all of these spaces require successful completion of space-specific training.

Questions or issues with booking these spaces may be directed to tangenhall@venturelab.upenn.edu.
How do I reserve space for a large group or event?
For Fall 2021, Tangen event spaces like the Colloquium, Active Learning Rooms, and the Summit are not available for public reservation due to limited resources and scaling of building operations.  More information will be available in Spring 2021.
Help! There's a real emergency!
The Tangen security desk is located in the first floor lobby and can be reached at 215-898-2811.

For emergencies, call the University line at 215-573-3333 or 511 from any campus phone.

Official Penn Public Safety emergency procedures for Tangen Hall are located here. Additional helpful tips from Wharton Operations are here.
Help! It's 1am and I need to get home safely!
The Penn Division of Public Safety provides walking escorts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for more information on this program please visit their website.  To request a walking escort call 215-898-WALK.

Penn Transit Services offers a variety of shuttle service options for the Penn community including an on-call shuttle service.  Please visit their website to learn about shuttle and bus service options that are available to you.  To request an on-call shuttle call  215-898-RIDE.
Help! My PennCard can't swipe into Tangen!
Only Penn students, faculty, and staff who are approved to access Tangen will have the ability to swipe into the building with their PennCards.  See above instructions to request access.

If you have been granted PennCard access to Tangen and your PennCard does not work, please email tangenhall@venturelab.upenn.edu with your PennID, failed swipe access point (e.g., main entrance, elevator to 7th floor, etc) and date/time of failed swipe.
Help! How can I connect to the Internet?
All members of the Penn community and guests can connect any device wirelessly through the University's AirPennNet system. Instructions are here.
Help! The IT equipment isn't working in my room!
All Tangen room are set up for self service and instructions for using room equipment are printed and visible.  Tangen is not a Penn-designated academic building and does not have immediate, onsite tech support.  Questions can be submitted to tangenhall@venturelab.upenn.edu.
Help! There's a leak / (insert other facility issue)!
Facility issues and maintenance requests may be submitted to the Tangen front desk staff or emailed to tangenhall@venturelab.upenn.edu.

Tangen staff can work with their department's administrative point of contact to submit issues through JLL's 360 Facility portal.

Tangen Hall brings together aspiring entrepreneurs across the University

At seven stories and 68,000 square feet, the Wharton-led Tangen is the largest student entrepreneurship hub in the world.

“The ‘start here’ approach is echoed in our mission of democratizing entrepreneurship for all students at Penn,” says Lori Rosenkopf, vice dean of entrepreneurship and Simon and Midge Palley Professor of Management at the Wharton School.

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