Midday Headlines: Saffron Says One Water Street Design Isn’t Good Enough

"It may be the most dispiriting apartment facade since you-know-which pink tower on Broad Street."

Rendering of One Water Street via PlanPhilly

Rendering of One Water Street via PlanPhilly

Better…but not good enough. That’s how Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron feels about the new design for One Water Street, a residential project planned for the north side of the Ben Franklin Bridge by PMC Property Group. So while the developer is aiming for a July groundbreaking — something the Civic Design Review board will determine at a hearing this Tuesday — Saffron has her fingers crossed for it not to happen. Here’s a few reasons why:

    • Facade is better than earlier renderings, but still not good enough:  *Could it be a repeat of 1900 Arch? Saffron was not happy with that:

      “Clad in a random pattern of blue and gray aluminum panels, it may be the most dispiriting apartment facade since you-know-which pink tower on Broad Street. The patterning makes no sense, nor does the big flat blank expanse on the all-important Arch Street corner. There is almost zero modulation to give the surface texture and shadow. If it weren’t for the windows, you might mistake it for those mountains of shipping containers you see near ports.”

      That “pink tower on Broad Street” she’s referring to is the Symphony House, which she called “the ugliest new condo building in Philadelphia” back in 2007. Yikes.

  • It’s like Dockside:

“Just like 1 Water Street, Dockside promised that its ‘public space,’ a plaza featuring a school of swimming fish by sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz, would help make it a destination. But there are plenty of friendlier places to sit and look at the water.”

  • So what about restaurants and cafes?

 

“[PMC Vice President] Stavin is resistant because he says the location is still too far off the beaten path for foot traffic.”

  • Goes over height limit for no good reason (135ft. on south, 190ft. on north):

“Just like 1 Water Street, Dockside promised that its ‘public space,’ a plaza featuring a school of swimming fish by sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz, would help make it a destination. But there are plenty of friendlier places to sit and look at the water.”

*An earlier version of this post mistakenly attributed the Saffron quote to her assessment of One Water Street. She was actually referring to 1900 Arch.

Proposed building next to Ben Franklin Bridge an improvement, slightly [Changing Skyline]

Moving onto other news…

Architectural Committee rejects concept for Warner Brothers building [PlanPhilly]

Bridgeport delays rental inspection program [Main Line Times]

Port Richmond building to become loft apartments with ZBA blessing [Philly Living]

How a drone is helping restore a historic building in Camden [Technical.ly Philly]