It’s no secret that there are a lot of buildings on Penn State’s campus. With 7,343 acres and 947 buildings at University Park, there’s no shortage of cool places on campus to eat, hang out, and study. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Bio-Behavioral Health (BBH) and Health and Human Development (HHD) Buildings

The Bio-Behavioral Health Building (foreground) and the Health and Human Development Building (background) offer sunny, quiet spaces to hang out and study.

Inside of the HHD Building

Staircase in the atrium of the BBH Building.

Since these buildings were designed to look almost exactly alike, it’s fair to include them together. These buildings are some of the newest on campus; the BBH building was constructed in 2013, while renovations on the HHD building were completed in 2015. Personally, the HHD building is my favorite study spot on campus; it’s always quiet, and large windows provide views of College Avenue that are perfect for people watching. That’s not to say that the BBH building can’t hold its own in the views department; sunny days are perfect for watching people play frisbee on the HUB Lawn. On the inside, lounge chairs, tables, and a quiet atmosphere make focusing on work easy in both buildings.

Business Building

Atrium of the Business Building.

View from the third floor, overlooking the Aboretum.

Bird’s-eye view of the atrium.

While not the most creatively named building on campus, the Business Building is certainly up there as one of the coolest. Home to the Smeal College of Business, this building is always full of students studying, clubs advertising events, and advisers helping students find jobs and internships. It’s also home to Blue Chip Bistro, in case you get hungry between classes or just need a study break. The atrium also features a stock market ticker!

Westgate Building

Outside of the Westgate Building.

Study area.

View of students studying over Atherton Street.

Formerly known as the Information Services and Technology (IST) Building, in 2017 this building was renamed the Westgate Building. Home to IST and Security and Risk Analysis (SRA) majors, this is definitely one of the largest buildings on campus. One of the coolest things about this building is the fact that it serves as a bridge over busy Atherton Street- nothing motivates you to study quite like sitting on top of 45 m.p.h. traffic!

Stuckeman Family Building

Outside of the Stuckeman.

Student work lines the walls on the ground floor.

A gallery showcases different student work throughout the year.

Home to the Stuckeman School for architecture, landscape architecture, and graphic design students, the Stuckeman Family Building is striking both inside and out. The green copper exterior makes it unlike any other building on campus, as does the work that goes on inside of the building. The ground floor is home to showcases of student’s work, from graphic design posters to 3-D architectural renderings. Upper levels of the building have studios for students to work on projects in. Though it may be tucked away on the north side of campus, those who know about the Stuckeman Building fall in love with its uniqueness.

Old Main

View of Old Main from its lawn on a fall afternoon.

View right after walking in the front doors, featuring the famous Land Grant Frescoes.

Upstairs hallway of Old Main.

Upstairs sitting area (open to the public!)

Up-close view of the clock tower at night.

No list of cool buildings at Penn State is complete without mentioning the most iconic building on campus: Old Main. Built and rebuilt throughout the years, Old Main as we know it today was built in the 1930s and at one point included a student lounge and sandwich shop. While today it is home to Penn State’s administrative offices, the building is still open to the public, who are welcome to come see the Land Grant Frescoes that were painted in the early 1940s.