BETHLEHEM, PA—Philadelphia-based Wallace Roberts & Todd, an integrated design firm of architects, landscape architects and planners, received the 35th annual ULI Global Awards for Excellence for its design of the SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus in Bethlehem, PA.

SteelStacks is an arts and cultural campus located on the former Bethlehem Steel plant on Bethlehem's SouthSide. This 9.5 acre campus sits within Bethlehem Works, a 126 acre development that was established as a 20-year tax incremental finance district (TIF) in 2000, three years after the steel mill closed. The plant's closing had an appreciable impact on both the city and the Lehigh Valley region, whose population is about one million.

"SteelStacks is an excellent example of how communities can work together to find creative solutions for reusing abandoned industrial sites and brownfields," says Tony Hanna, executive director of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bethlehem. "The master planning and related architecture completed by WRT allowed us to develop and create a unique combination of arts, culture and commerce at SteelStacks, providing a special place for people to visit, learn and enjoy a wide variety of entertainment and community events."

“WRT is honored to have had a central role in the transformation of SteelStacks and is grateful to the Redevelopment Authority and Tony Hanna for his vision and leadership that helped make this project a reality,” says Antonio Fiol-Silva, FAIA, principal at WRT. “This was truly an integrated effort, culling not only all of WRT's top planners, architects and landscape architects, but a myriad of partners who helped transform this abandoned eyesore into an economic and cultural engine for the City of Bethlehem.”

Working closely with public and private partners, WRT led an integrated design process that transformed the heart of the former steel mill into a dynamic destination for music, art, festivals and cultural events. The design incorporates the former plant's 20-story tall blast furnaces as the dramatic backdrop to the Levitt Pavilion, an outdoor amphitheater now at the center of the campus.

SteelStacks officially opened in July 2011, with support from public and nonprofit partners such as the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Area School District, Northampton County, ArtsQuest and PBS39.

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WRT's Design for Bethlehem's SteelStacks Gets ULI Global Award for Excellence

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