Philadelphia, USA
In Philadelphia on the east coast of the USA two high-rise buildings containing rental apartments and condominiums were to be planned. The design consists of two towers swivelled in relation to each other that are connected at the top by a horizontal element – a double tower shaped like a loop with a strong visual presence in the cityscape.
Philadelphia, which has a population of around 1.6 million, is the sixth largest city in the USA and the second biggest on the east coast. The planning area is located between the Delaware River and the Civic Center, a site of considerable importance in the urban geography. This provides the basis for creating a place.
By stepping back the building defines an arrival space – a square from which the building is entered which, continued vertically by swivelling the two towers, produces a striking spatial effect. The facade of stone and glass is to be seen as a reference to historic buildings in Philadelphia.
The plinth accommodates a shopping centre, offices, and parking spaces. A central lightwell provides light for the deep part of the building in the basement and creates a visual relationship to the vertical. One of the towers will contain rental apartments, the other condominiums. In the crowning element there are fitness rooms a bar, and, additionally, tiny rental apartments.
Site plan
Ground floor
Typical floor
Section
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