Tag: philadelphia | ArchDaily

University of Pennsylvania Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology / Behnisch Architekten

Valeria Silva — Sun, 01 Feb 2026 07:00:00 +0000

The Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology (VLEST) is a newly completed research facility at the University of Pennsylvania, bringing together an interdisciplinary team of scientists, policymakers, and students committed to advancing sustainable energy research.

Calder Gardens Museum / Herzog & de Meuron

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 07:00:00 +0000

Calder Gardens is not a conventional museum. From the beginning, the client wanted a space that would provide a totally new, intimate, and ever-changing encounter with the work of Alexander Calder. While the building is still tasked with the typical technical requirements of a traditional museum, it is conceived as a new type of place for being with art: a place that provides an interplay between art, architecture, nature, people, and the surrounding city.

How Amsterdam Uses the Doughnut Economics Model to Create a Balanced Strategy for Both the People and the Environment

Maria-Cristina Florian — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 04:00:00 +0000

In 2020, in the midst of the first wave of lockdowns due to the pandemic, the municipality of Amsterdam announced its strategy for recovering from this crisis by embracing the concept of the “Doughnut Economy.” The model is developed by British economist Kate Raworth and popularized through her book, “Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist”, released in 2017. Here, she argues that the true purpose of economics does not have to equal growth. Instead, the aim is to find a sweet spot, a way to balance the need to provide everyone with what they need to live a good life, a “social foundation” while limiting our impact on the environment, “the environmental ceiling.” With the help of Raworth, Amsterdam has downscaled this approach to the size of a city. The model is now used to inform city-wide strategies and developments in support of this overarching idea: providing a good quality of life for all without putting additional pressure on the planet. Other cities are following this example.

The Role of Urban Spaces in Shaping Movements: 7 Sites of Resistance and Protest Across the USA

Camilla Ghisleni — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Protests, civil disobedience, and dissent are not only a defining part of our shared history since the colonial era, they also continue to the present day on campuses, at political conventions, and elsewhere. In this context, some historic marches, sit-ins, and other actions are enshrined in our collective narrative, while others have faded from memory; however, the cultural landscapes that served as stages where these events occurred still exist. These places are the focus of Landslide 2024: Demonstration Grounds and a portal for re-engaging with the stories of little-known or even forgotten events that were pivotal in USA history. The thirteen different sites across the country, represented in the new report and digital exhibition from The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF), touch on events that shaped individuals and sparked movements.

The 25 Most Anticipated Projects of 2025

Nour Fakharany — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 05:00:00 +0000

As 2024 comes to an end, the architectural world looks ahead to 2025, a year set to unveil transformative projects across the globe. From cultural landmarks in Asia, such as Sou Fujimoto's "Grand Ring" for Expo 2025 Osaka and MAD Architects' Hainan Science Museum in China, to dynamic urban developments like OMA's Harajuku Quest in Tokyo and David Chipperfield's Elbtower in Hamburg, these projects reflect a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and preserving cultural heritage.

The Hub for Clinical Collaboration at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia / Perkins&Will

Andreas Luco — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 17:00:00 +0000

The Hub for Clinical Collaboration is a 17-story academic office tower at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The building is located on the Perelman Plaza, which integrates into the CHOP Philadelphia campus and connects to other buildings with clinical and research functions. Practitioner well-being is integral to providing quality patient care; the new office and administrative building create a collaborative workplace that encourages and supports wellness. The design was informed by rigorous shadowing and a unique research and engagement approach, led by hospital leadership, that put the needs of practitioners at the forefront. Perkins&Will created a highly efficient facility that balances needs for privacy and focus and tends to the day-to-day health, happiness, and comfort of care teams. The resulting spaces enhance collaboration and facilitate community.

The High Line Effect: Transforming Abandoned Infrastructure in the United States

Ankitha Gattupalli — Sun, 09 Jun 2024 07:30:00 +0000

In the early 2000s, an abandoned rail line in Manhattan sat decaying - a memory from a time when freight trains traveled straight through the city. To most citizens, it was a site destined for demolition. However, a few visionary residents saw an opportunity in this neglected space and advocated to transform it into a public green space for the community. The success of the project seemed to spark a "High Line Effect", inspiring other American cities to pursue civic infrastructure on outdated railways, roadways, and industrial sites.

WEISS/MANFREDI Honored with the 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award

Maria-Cristina Florian — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 06:30:00 +0000

New York-based architecture office WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism has been named the 37^th recipient of the Louis I. Kahn Award, offered by DesignPhiladelphia. The firm, founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, is recognized for its wide range of projects, from cultural institutions to urban landscapes, all demonstrating and responding to contextual conditions, sustainability standards, and centered around the human experience.

SOM's 30th Street Station Redevelopment in Philadelphia Breaks Ground

Nour Fakharany — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 05:30:00 +0000

This month, Skidmore, Owings, and Merril's (SOM) $550 million William H. Gray III 30^th Street Station broke ground in Philidelphia. Initially proposed in 2016, the scheme involves a new mixed-use urban district with an emphasis on transit for the 30^th Street Station Precinct. Boasting a vibrant public realm, the initial phase of the plan focuses extensively on renovating the historic station. Designed in collaboration with Gilbane, Amtrak, Plenary, Vantage, and Johnson Controls, the overarching goal is to position the station for sustained growth over the next five decades and enhance the travel experience for millions of annual visitors.

Our Cities Aren’t Dead Yet!

Nicholas Dagen Bloom — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 03:30:00 +0000

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Herzog & de Meuron Receives the 2023 Louis I. Kahn Award

Maria-Cristina Florian — Wed, 31 May 2023 06:30:00 +0000

Herzog & de Meuron has been honored as the 36^th Louis I. Kahn Award winner by the Center for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia. The annual award, founded in 1983 in memory of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn, celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture. Jaques Herzog, one of the two founders of the Swiss-based architecture firm, will present a talk on behalf of this office during the official award ceremony, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology at 6:30 pm on May 31, 2023.

The Block / ISA

Paula Pintos — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Big box buildings sited on abandoned industrial lots can bring new retail amenities to historically underserved neighborhoods, but their associated surface parking lots can negatively impact urban street life. The Block, a 49-unit mixed-use multifamily building situated on an existing surface parking lot in Philadelphia’s Callowhill zone, bridges that gap, adding density and supporting pedestrian walkability while taking advantage of existing car-centric development in a novel typology.

Herzog & de Meuron Collaborates with Piet Oudolf to Design the Calder Gardens in Philadephia

Maria-Cristina Florian — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 06:30:00 +0000

Herzog & de Meuron and landscape designer Piet Oudolf are collaborating to create Calder Gardens, which will house and display artworks by American sculptor Alexander Calder. Located between Vine Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, the 6,500 square meter site will house a two-story building, half of which is developed underground. Instead of developing the site as a typical museum, the team decided to transform it into a garden as an attractive alternative for the people of Philadelphia.

Francis Kéré: Get to Know the 2022 Pritzker Winner's Built Work

Hana Abdel & Paula Pintos — Tue, 15 Mar 2022 09:00:00 +0000

Diébédo Francis Kéré founded his architecture practice Kéré Architecture, in Berlin, Germany in 2005, after a journey in which he started advocating for the building of quality educational architecture in his home country of Burkina Faso. Deprived of proper classrooms and learning conditions as a child, and having faced the same reality as the majority of children in his country, his first works aimed at bringing tangible solutions to the issues faced by the community.

Is Fake the New Real? Searching for an Architectural Reality

Anne-Catrin Schultz — Fri, 25 Feb 2022 04:00:00 +0000

Excerpt from the book: Real and Fake in Architecture–Close to the Original, Far from Authenticity? (Edition Axel Menges)

9 Newly Opened Museums Enriching the Arts and Culture Scene

Andreea Cutieru — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 05:30:00 +0000

Last year, a series of new museums, expansions and several museum renovations have opened their doors to the public, adding a new dimension to the cultural landscape around the world. From the long-awaited re-opening of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, to Ryue Nishizawa's Jining Art Museum merging with the landscape, and MVRDV's reflective Art Depot, discover the architecture of the latest venues of art and culture.

4 Projects That Show Mass Timber is the Future of American Cities

Niall Patrick Walsh — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 06:45:00 +0000

As architects face up to the need for ethical, sustainable design in the age of climate change awareness, timber architecture is making a comeback in a new, technologically impressive way. Largely overlooked in the age of Modernism, recent years have seen a plethora of advancements related to mass timber across the world. This year alone, Japan announced plans for a supertall wooden skyscraper in Tokyo by 2041, while the European continent has seen plans for the world’s largest timber building in the Netherlands, and the world’s tallest timber tower in Norway.

Kokedama Forest Installation / Nomad Studio

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0000

The ephemeral installation, a 1,000 SQF miniature sculptural forest consisting of more than 1,200 forestry seedling kokedamas nested within an inverted dome carved out from a fragile and intricate metal network, has received exceptional recognition from both the audience and the organization.