Al Borden Discusses Philadelphia’s Rail Park with Electrical Contractor Magazine

Electrical Contractor Magazine Rail Park

An article in Electrical Contractor magazine commended the City of Philadelphia for its ability to continually evolve while keeping true to its historic roots. One of the project examples that author Susan Casey highlights is the transformation of the Reading Viaduct, a former pedestrian and freight train line, which was recently reimagined into the attractive new Rail Park.

The article noted that the entire park’s design, including the lighting, highlights and correlates with the industrial style of the surrounding neighborhood. Working with the Center City District of Philadelphia and Studio Bryan Hanes, The Lighting Practice integrated lighting into the landscape to support visitor safety without disrupting evening views of the city. Low-level fixtures throughout the foliage create a warm glow, and decorative pole lights mimic moonlight through the trees. Color-changing light installations draw visitor attention to the once dark underpasses. Incorporating the railway’s original materials, the repurposed viaduct has become a safe green space that offers a nod to its initial purpose.

“We worked closely with [Shelly Electric Co. Inc., the EC on the Rail Park project] to make the details real and make the system robust and maintainable,” The Lighting Practice Principal Alfred Borden told Electrical Contractor. “Their craftsmanship and engineering expertise made them very effective teammates.”

The Lighting Practice is proud to be a part of this adaptive reuse project and several others that are currently in progress in Philadelphia.

 

Past Meets Future: Philadelphia’s Historic and Cutting-Edge Construction

Electrical Contractor | September 2018

Philadelphia, the birthplace of U.S. independence, is a city that evolves while also reflecting on its past. Its new Museum of the American Revolution showcases this history with snapshots frozen in time. Conversely, the Rail Park has reincarnated an abandoned railway as a tree-filled park where people can stroll and view the city skyline. Meanwhile, the PennFIRST Pavilion, a state-of-the-art hospital, celebrates the future of medicine and healthcare on the site known previously as Penn Tower.

Tourists flock each year to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed. A new addition is the Museum of the American Revolution, an 118,000-square-foot museum that displays weapons, household items, clothing and life-size dioramas, including one in which George Washington is breaking up a fight between troops.

Read the full article here.

Photo courtesy of Electrical Contractor Magazine