American Loft Building
4. octubre 2010
This eleven-story loft building stands out in its Philadelphia locale, not only for its height and articulated façade, but for the way it meets the sky and the ground; the former is capped by a cantilevered roof and the building is raised above the latter on angled pilotis. Winka Dubbeldam answered some questions about her design of the building.
View of entrance from park
Can you describe your design process for the building?
The 61,000 sf American Loft building features a "green" sloping parking lot, which slides or slopes under the building to reveal the equally sloping curved bottom of the building. The parking lot is designed as a green park, with trees and grass-crete surfaces. The concept of interlocking L-shapes which form the overall building allows for continuous bands of curtainwall tracking all sides of the tower, which open out on generous balconies on all floors. As the building is completely built from natural materials, it will be low-maintenance and low energy use.
View of double-height townhouse
How does the building compare to other projects in your office, be it the same or other building types?
This was a residential tower for affordably priced apartments, so it was a very interesting challenge! As it is located in Philadelphia, it was nice to actually have a site and a site strategy.
View from below the “belly” in the parking
How does the building relate to contemporary architectural trends, be it sustainability, technology, etc.?
It was built from mostly local materials and requires very little maintenance. It has a very high insulation level, which will make for a building which uses very little energy.
The site is made from grass-crete which is a great storm water management for the site.
Alucobond pre-fab façadepanels align w windows
Are there any new/upcoming projects in your office that this building’s design and construction has influenced?
We work mostly on sustainable buildings. The site strategy was a great inspiration and it was nice to develop split-level entrances for the different users of the building.
E-mail interview conducted by John Hill
View from below the cantilevered roof
American Loft Building
2009
Philadelphia, PA
Client
CREI
Designer
Archi-Tectonics
New York
Design Principal
Winka Dubbeldam
Project Leader
Bittor Sanchez-Monasterio
Project Team
Patrick Wong
Pilar Echezarreta
Monty Forman
Tina Tung
Brian Holland
Architect of Record
Hugh Zimmers
Structural Engineer
WSP Cantor Seinuk
MEP/FP Engineer
BHG Consultants
Geotechnical engineer
MC Clymont and Rak
Specifications
Construction Specifications
Civil engineer
Ambric Technology CO.
Contractor
Creative Construction Managers CCM
Façade installer
Facade Technology Ltd.
Site Area
13,500 Sqf
Building Area
57,000 Sqf
Photos
Archi-tectonics