Skip to content
Opinion

Commentary: City's broad scope of architecture impresses pros and residents

By Rebecca Johnson This week, starting Wednesday, the American Institute of Architects is hosting its annual convention in Philadelphia. This year's gathering will be its highest-attendance convention in the past decade for many reasons, not least of which is the quantity and quality of the architecture here in Philadelphia.

Entrance view from 18th and Arch. There will be two main entrances to the tower, on 18th Street and 19th Street. Thornton Tomasetti, the engineering firm, was retained to design the interior superstructure of the new Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, which will be the city’s tallest building at 1,121 feet.
Entrance view from 18th and Arch. There will be two main entrances to the tower, on 18th Street and 19th Street. Thornton Tomasetti, the engineering firm, was retained to design the interior superstructure of the new Comcast Innovation and Technology Center, which will be the city’s tallest building at 1,121 feet.Read moreFile photo
    Published 

By Rebecca Johnson

This week, starting Wednesday, the American Institute of Architects is hosting its annual convention in Philadelphia. This year's gathering will be its highest-attendance convention in the past decade for many reasons, not least of which is the quantity and quality of the architecture here in Philadelphia.

The AIA Philadelphia chapter has organized more than 120 tours of buildings and places here in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties - and they are almost all sold out. There are highlights of our local "starchitect" heroes: Louis I. Kahn, Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, Frank Furness, and many more. Philadelphia was designated a World Heritage City in part because of the fantastic and broad scope of architecture that is located here.

But what will really excite our visiting architects is what is new in Philadelphia.

Some claim that architectural excellence has not soared along with the construction boom, but the fact is that several of the world's best architects have designed buildings here in Philadelphia in recent years.

Consider Lord Norman Foster and the new Comcast tower; Robert A.M. Stern, the first Comcast tower; Bjarke Ingels and his firm, BIG, an office building in the Navy Yard; Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, the Barnes Museum; Cesar Pelli and his firm, Pelli Clark Pelli Architects, the Cira Centre; Frank Gehry, the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Snøhetta, the new Temple Library. The list goes on.

Architects from all over the country will be taking construction, walking, bus, and even running tours to enjoy these and many other buildings across our region.

The design excellence we have in Philadelphia is not just the product of out-of-town designers. Several of the city's best buildings have been designed by Philadelphia architects. In just the last year, the following firms are among those whose work has been recognized locally and nationally: KieranTimberlake for Dilworth Park; Erdy McHenry for Meyerson Hall at the University of Pennsylvania; Bohlin Cywinski Jackson for Penn's New College House; Atkin Olshin Shade for Temple Adath Israel in Merion Station; Digsau for Swarthmore College's Matchbox Wellness and Fitness Center; Wallace Roberts Todd for the Fringe Arts Building; Interface Studio Architects for Microphila (unbuilt); and John Milner Architects for the Webb Farmhouse at Longwood Gardens.

This list may sound parochial, but it's not. It's simply a matter of pride. Pride is something Philadelphians have a lot of in some categories and not nearly enough of in others. Our architecture and our architects are, in my opinion, wrongly underappreciated. They have created buildings we can all be proud of.

Carl Dranoff, the president and founder of Dranoff Properties, recently penned a beautiful op-ed about the positive growth and development of our city. He wrote, "Today's Philadelphia is a testament to the optimists. Its renaissance has been made possible by architects, developers, and funders whose imaginations set off major evolutions."

I couldn't agree more. I believe those attending the AIA Convention will leave inspired by, if a bit envious of, the wonderful architecture we offer.

Rebecca Johnson is the executive director of the American Institute of Architects Philadelphia and the Center for Architecture and Design. Rebecca@aiaphila.org