Articles by Thomas Koloski

Live! Casino and Hotel Officially Complete in the Sports Complex District, South Philadelphia

Construction work has finally wrapped up at the Live! Casino and Hotel at 900 Packer Avenue in the Sports Complex District in South Philadelphia. Designed by Bower Lewis Thower Architects and developed by The Cordish Companies and Greenwood Racing and Entertainment, the 1.5-million-square-foot development consists of a massive, three-story casino structure with a curved stone exterior, joined with a 215-foot-tall, 14-story, 215-room hotel tower with a dark glass façade and an angled top.

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Bridgeman's View Tower. Rendering via Studio Agoos Lovera

Looking Back at Bridgeman’s View Tower, an Unbuilt 915-Foot-Tall Skyscraper Once Proposed in Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia

Over the course of the past three decades, many high-rise projects have been proposed along the Delaware River, yet most bit the dust before construction had ever begun. One of these is the 915-foot-tall, 66-story Bridgeman’s View Tower planned in 2007 at 900 North Delaware Avenue in Northern Liberties, North Philadelphia, a surprising location for such a tall skyscraper proposal, given the area’s then-lowrise profile. Designed by Studio Agoos Lovera and developed by Marc Stien, Ryan Roberts, and an undisclosed North Jersey real estate investment team, the tower was planned to feature a mix of residential office, hotel, and retail space, with 794 condominiums and 200 to 300 boutique hotel rooms.

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W/Element Hotel with decorative lighting. Photo by Thomas Koloski

Decorative Lighting Tested Atop W/Element Hotel at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City

In recent days, decorative lighting was undergoing testing atop the W/Element Hotel at 1441 Chestnut Street in Center City, as the dual-branded hotel readies for its grand opening in the coming months (Element Hotel in April and the W Hotel in May). Designed by Cope-Linder Architects and developed by Chestlen Development, the tower’s nighttime illumination will be particularly effective due to the tower’s prominent height of 617 feet and 52 stories, further enhanced by the dramatic design inspired by the ripples on the Schuylkill River. During Superbowl LII, the Lighting Practice, the building’s illumination designer, was inspired by multiple skyscrapers that were illuminated in green in honor of the Philadelphia Eagles and decided to switch from an all-white design to a multi-colored LED system.

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Timber Towers. Rendering via Hickok Cole

Examining Timber Towers, a Visionary Concept for Wood-Framed High-Rises Suggested for Center City

In 2018, architecture firm Hickok Cole published a design concept for Timber Towers, a trio of mixed-use high-rises that would use wood as the principal structural material. The concept, which won an honorable mention in the SKYHIVE Skyscraper Challenge, was designed to span an entire block in Center City to the northwest of the Comcast Technology Center. According to the architects, the 1.9-million-square-foot plan would use 2,075,125 cubic feet of wood products, “easily replenished by North American forests in less than three hours,” and sequester 80,775 US tons of carbon dioxide within the structure, resulting in emissions savings are the equivalent those produced by 12,073 cars within one year.

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17th and Vine rendering via Hiliier Architecture

A Look at an Unbuilt 50-Story Tower Once Proposed at 1739 Vine Street in Franklintown

Nearly 20 years ago, a 890-foot-tall, 50-story skyscraper was proposed at 1739 Vine Street in Franklintown, North Philadelphia (or, by an alternate definition, in Logan Square, Center City). Located just to the north of Vine Street, at the intersection with North 17th Street, the tower would have dominated the northern edge of the skyline core. Designed by Hillier Architecture, the project featured a major setback on the north side and a taller, curved section at the south side, with a spire extending above the main structure. Renderings show a façade of light turquoise glass with white metal highlights.

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