It's time to make up a bunch of awards and hand them out to the most deserving places and things in the real estate, architecture, infrastructure, and neighborhood universes of Philadelphia! Yep, it's time for the Annual Curbed Awards!
There was no shortage of things to talk about this year regarding Philly’s design, development, and growth. Cranes were a regular sight along the city’s skyline. Towers broke ground and topped off. And buildings that were under construction for what seemed like forever finally debuted. On top of that, there was much to discuss and issues to tackle, from historic preservation battles to the affordable housing crisis.
But while Philly saw 3.3 million square feet of new construction deliver this year, apparently we haven’t seen nothing yet. A staggering 8 million square feet of construction is on the way in 2018. Still, 2017 did have some winning projects leave their marks on Philly’s skyline in more ways that one.
Here now, the best new architecture—reveals, makeovers, and conversions included—of 2017.
Most fun to watch rise
The Comcast Technology Center has been on the rise since 2014, and this year it finally earned its title as the tallest building in Philadelphia when it surpassed its sister building the Comcast Tower in height. Now at 1,121 feet, the Foster+Partners-designed tower is poised to open its doors in 2018, bringing thousands of Comcast employees to the 60-story tower and a Four Seasons Hotel to the top floors. Take that, Billy Penn: Philly finally has its first supertall.
Best makeover
After 15 months and $80 million in renovations, the University of Pennsylvania opened its doors once again to the Hill College House, designed by modern architect Eero Saarinen in 1958. When it was built in 1960, it was the university’s first women’s-only dorm, which made for some interesting architectural choices by Saarinen like a bridge, a spike-lined roof, and a foreboding exterior.
But like many midcentury modern buildings, Hill College House did not age well. Mills + Schnoering Architects was tasked with restoring Saarinen’s original details while bringing the dormitory into the 21st century (Students are perhaps most grateful that the building is now equipped with central AC.). Hill College House is now bright and airy, a modernist icon to this day.
Runner up: Philadelphia’s four libraries unveiled their makeovers as 2017 came to a close, transforming from old and dated to a 21st century bibliophile’s dream.
Best reason to go outside
When Bartram’s Mile officially opened on Earth Day of this year, it became the first segment of the Schuylkill Banks located along the west side of the river. At just one mile, the trail may not seem significant. But it was a big deal for West Philly residents, who despite living right next to Bartram’s Garden have long been separated from the riverfront.
The $6 million Bartram’s Mile runs from the new 56th Street Plaza and ends at the edge of the future Schuylkill Crossing swing bridge. When that opens, the west and east banks of the Schuylkill River Trail will finally be connected.
Runner up: The Oval returned to Eakins Oval on the Parkway for its fourth year, this time bigger and better than ever.
Best reason to take a staycation
It was a good year for hotels big and small in Philly. But when Wm. Mulherin’s Sons opened its boutique hotel this spring above its already much-beloved restaurant, it garnered local attention for being Fishtown’s first hotel and national praise for its beautiful design aesthetic. Designed for both overnight and extended stays, the four rooms come with fully-equipped kitchens and are so well-curated with vintage furnishings and finishes—and good food and drinks down below—that you will probably never want to leave.
Runner up: Lokal in Old City, Postgreen Homes’ invisible service boutique hotel that transformed a run-down building into a dreamy six-room abode designed by Jersey Ice Cream Co.
Most creative adaptive reuse project
There were a lot of old Philly buildings that got a second lease on life this year. But when it comes to creativity, the adaptive reuse of the St. Madeleine Sophie Church in West Mt. Airy takes the cake for turning into the home of a bona fide circus school.
In September, the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts announced that its was moving its headquarters to the 1930s church, located on a three-acre campus at 6452 Greene Street. The circus school, Ciracadium, and a Give and Take Jugglers have made great use of the church’s sanctuary, gym, school building, a small home on the property, and a gatehouse. Where else in Philly can you say that you’ve twirled on aerial silks while hanging from church rafters?
Runner up: An abandoned warehouse in Kensington that was once a source of blight for the neighborhood was transformed into the Orinoka Civic House, an affordable housing development geared toward civic-minded residents.
Best public art installation
To say that it was a good year for art in Philly would be the understatement of the year. Martin Puryear’s ginormous, glitzy Big Bling dazzled on the Schuylkill River. Cai Guo-Quang’s colorful pedicabs adorned with lanterns lit up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Public art exists to make a statement, and perhaps no other one made such a loud one as the Monument Lab, which installed more than a dozen temporary monuments throughout the city. The public art exhibition asked the question, “What is an appropriate monument for the current city of Philadelphia?” at a time when the nation grappled with the future of divisive memorials and monuments.
Runner up: The emotional unveiling of the Octavius V. Catto Memorial at City Hall, Philadelphia’s first monument dedicated to an individual African American.
Best transportation win
It was six years in the making, but a portion of Chestnut Street in West Philly became home to the city’s first one-way protected bike lane. The 1.1-mile stretch of Chestnut between 45th to 34th streets is heavily trafficked by pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists alike and has experienced some of the highest rates of crashes in recent years.
The new protected bike lane didn’t come without its naysayers, but it at least increased the number of these kinds of paths in a city sorely lacking in them: Philly has just two protected bike lanes, though another one was just announced for South Street.
Runner up: The launch of SEPTA’s Direct Bus service along Roosevelt Boulevard that runs more frequently and makes fewer stops than the normal bus line, cutting the average commute time from 47 to 30 minutes.
Best new building
And finally, this year’s best new building is ... Bridge in Old City! Among the many buildings that debuted in 2017, Curbed readers deemed Gluck+’s Bridge the best of the best, garnering 38 percent of votes.
The LEED Gold-certified Bridge officially began moving in residents to its 146 apartments in the summer, and finished construction in the fall. At 18 stories, it stands as one of the tallest buildings in Old City, and is undoubtedly a standout structure next to the Ben Franklin Bridge. It also incorporated affordable housing units into their project, which in turn allowed the building a height bonus.
But perhaps what makes Bridge so special is the fact that it almost didn’t happen. The project was 15 years in the making for Brown Hill Development, which went through nearly three dozen designs with Gluck+ and multiple community meetings before finally breaking ground in 2015.
Here’s looking at you, Bridge, this year’s Building of 2017.
Runner up: FMC Tower, the 49-story swanky skyscraper by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and the tallest tower in University City, came in at a close second, earning 35 percent of votes.
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