The Architect’s Newspaper features BCJ’s Transparent Cube at 15th & Walnut

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s transparent building design continues to create waves in the architectural world.  The building located at 15th and Walnut is one of Midwood Development’s Philadelphia projects.  The mixed-use space will house retail and offices. The Lighting Practice joined the project as interior and exterior lighting designers.  We are proud to be working with BCJ and Midwood Development on this iconic project!

The Architect’s Newspaper: Unveiled> Philly’s Commercial Corner

Bohlin Cywinski Jackson uses massing to bring identity to Philadelphia’s newest commercial building, 15th and Walnut.

By Branden Klayko

The architectural firm behind Apple’s famous crystalline cube on Fifth Avenue has designed a dynamic glass retail structure in downtown Philadelphia at the intersection of 15th and Walnut streets. After studying various massing configurations that would allow tenants to customize their own identity without compromising the overall building appearance, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) devised a three-story structure with enough visual weight to hold its own among the masonry architecture of Center City.

“We evolved into a horizontal layering effect on the facade to give the appearance that the walls could slide,” said Andrew Moroz, associate at BCJ. Since solar heat gain is not an issue on the well-shaded, north-facing site, the architects were able to use ultra-clear low-iron glass. The material allows the steel structure to show through. Though it’s only three stories, with twenty-foot floor-to-floor heights the building reaches 65 feet tall. The structurally-glazed horizontal layers help to emphasize the building’s corner, where a second-story open terrace will be built for the unlikely anchor tenant of this sleek modern building: The Cheesecake Factory.

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