Developer Takes the Wraps Off Two New Office Tower Designs

PHILADELPHIA—Brandywine Realty Trust has unveiled the designs of the first two mixed-use towers in its $3.5-billion Schuylkill Yards development in University City. Construction on the two towers is expected to begin next year.

Locally-based Brandywine Realty Trust, the master developer for the 14-acre planned neighborhood, reports that it enlisted global architecture firm, Practice for Architecture and Urbanism | PAU for the design of the East and West Towers, located at 3001 (East Tower) and 3025 (West Tower) John F. Kennedy Blvd.

Designed as cousins, the East and West Towers share similar personalities, with distinct differences. The design artfully merges inspiration from historic building materials with modern architecture to showcase two complementary towers that will define Schuylkill Yards— a community designed for connecting people, ideas, and businesses. When designing the Towers, PAU was inspired by a convergence of materials and textures such as the uniform partitioned windows of the old Pennsylvania Railroad railcars, and the distinct red sandstone, brick, and terra-cotta of the landmark Fisher Fine Arts Library, Brandywine states. The East and West Towers’ design features floor-to-ceiling glazed windows framed by a weave of painted aluminum. The West Tower’s exterior façade features neutral tones, while the East Tower’s bold red palette adds a pop of color to the West Philadelphia skyline, resonating with the traditional brick tones of the city, Brandywine Realty states.

“As we continue to make our vision for Schuylkill Yards a reality, a set of guiding principles has remained at the forefront of our design approach: be courageous, creative and bold. Act with integrity for the surrounding community. Prioritize people by bringing beauty and delight to the ground plane. Create connection points for people and their communities to thrive,” says Jerry Sweeney, president and CEO of Brandywine Realty Trust.

“We have assembled an outstanding team, and the iconic East and West Tower designs will serve as a continuum of what we’ve created thus far at Schuylkill Yards with the now-open Drexel Square, and the current re-imagination of the Bulletin Building,” he adds.

The East Tower features a unique stacking that adopts strategic massing principles to create a building that is visually appealing and maximizes the buildable footprint, while mitigating wind and adding opportunity for accessible green space and improved site lines. The dynamic massing changes from differing vantage points, appearing more “classic” when viewed from Center City, and more exuberant when viewed from 30th Street Station, Market Street, or Woodland Walk. The ground level features a nearly 40-foot pedestrian arcade and building entrance, as well as an opening to Drexel Square. At 512 feet, the East Tower will total 34 floors of trophy-class office space, 7,000 square feet of retail, and a dedicated amenity level on the 14th floor. The East Tower is designed to achieve LEED Silver Certification.

The design of the West Tower responds to the scale and rhythms of the neighboring East Tower. Standing at more than 360 feet, the mixed-use West Tower will offer 9,000 square feet of retail, 219,000 square feet of residential, 200,000 square feet of office space and covered parking. The ninth floor of the tower will be a fully dedicated luxury amenity floor. Both towers will be elevated atop a foundation of fluted pedestals, forming a series of architecturally significant archways, and a gateway to the towers’ office and residential lobbies and retail offerings, Brandywine adds.

To create a shared identity and streamlined accessibility between the East and West Towers, Brandywine partnered with SWA/Balsey, a leading New York-based landscape, architecture planning and urban design firm to design The Highline Park. The park serves as an “urban foyer,” which is brought to life, day or night, through outdoor dining, interactive art installations, water features, a rain garden and dynamic lighting. Spanning nearly an acre, the park embraces the rail yard’s past and present, creating a welcoming, publicly-accessible destination for intimate programmed events, relaxation, collaboration and community enjoyment, the developer notes. A raised deck and seat-steps energize and define the far edge of the site with striking views of the park and railyard. SWA/Balsey chose a strategic selection of mixed materials including stone pavers, wood, concrete, natural stone and Corten steel to create effortless synergy with the towers.

Vishaan Chakrabarti, founder of PAU, says, “This is one of the most important sites in the United States, rife with opportunities for vibrant mixed-uses in the heart of Philadelphia. At PAU, we believe that in order to write in the city, we must first read the city, from its spatial and material patterns, to the needs of its diverse communities. For the East and West Towers, we focused on catalytic designs that bridge Philadelphia’s past and future through color, materials and the area’s urban relationships. These buildings aspire to create a sense of place and occasion by enlivening the street and the sky, setting the stage for the evolution of the neighborhood.”

The Highline Park is one of several public green spaces that will ultimately comprise 6.5 acres within Schuylkill Yards. It will join the 1.3-acre Drexel Square park that Brandywine and Drexel University opened to the public in June.

Situated directly across from 30th Street Station, Drexel Square transformed a surface parking lot into a green gathering place for the community. Immediately following the grand opening of Drexel Square, Brandywine Realty Trust, and Philadelphia-based architecture firm, Kiernan Timberlake, commenced a $43.3 million re-imagination of the Bulletin Building, which alongside Drexel Square, will serve as the centerpiece of Schuylkill Yards.

With the recent opening of Drexel Square, the completion of the Bulletin Building slated for early 2020, and the commencement of construction of the East and West Towers anticipated in 2020, the first phase of Schuylkill Yards is well underway. The multi-phase, multi-year development will at full build-out deliver 6.9 million square feet of office, residential, retail, hotel, green space, and life science and innovation space.