PHILADELPHIA | Comcast Technology Center | 1,121 FT | 60 FLOORS
 

http://corporate.comcast.com/news-in...-press-release

Source:
http://corporate.comcast.com/media-center/citc-updates

The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center
The Comcast Innovation and Technology Center will be a $1.2 billion world-class, state-of-the-art facility along the 1800 block of Arch Street. It will complement Comcast Corporation’s global headquarters, the Comcast Center, and expand the Comcast vertical campus in Center City.

Location
•1800 Arch Street Developer
•Liberty Property Trust Owner
•A joint venture between Comcast Corporation and Liberty Property Trust

Design Architect
•Lord Norman Foster, Foster + Partners Architect of Record
•Kendall/Heaton Associates, Inc.

General Contractor
•L.F. Driscoll Co.

Development
•1,121 feet tall
•60-story tower
•Approximately 1.7 million rentable square feet, including 1.33 million rentable square feet of office space, 230,112 square feet of hotel space, and 2,682 rentable square feet of retail space
•Featuring 200+ room luxury Four Seasons hotel with world-class spa, fitness, event and meeting facilities
•Exciting new restaurant located on the top floor of the building, offering spectacular 360 degree of the city
•Media center in the heart of the City, featuring the studio and office operations of NBC 10/WCAU and Telemundo 62/WWSI
•State-of-the-art incubator space for local technology start ups
•Creation of an extended commuter concourse connected underground to Comcast Center and Suburban Station
•Constructed of stainless steel and glass façade
•Designed to attain LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council
•Comparable rental rates to existing Trophy Class buildings in Philadelphia, including the Comcast Center

Timeline
•Ground breaking anticipated Summer 2014
•Project completion anticipated Q4 2017

Total Project Cost
•$1.2 billion in total
•$40 million in Commonwealth and City support to defray the cost of public infrastructure improvements. No government dollars will be used to support the office and hotel components of this project.

http://corporate.comcast.com/images/...ring-1-new.jpg

http://corporate.comcast.com/images/...-blog-hero.jpg

http://corporate.comcast.com/images/...l-1413x785.jpg

http://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/d...922-60014.jpeg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/2608ac6b6...7ieo1_1280.jpg

http://www.thorntontomasetti.com/wp-...astTech_15.jpg

http://photos.visitphilly.com/comcas...ilding-830.jpg

Photo Credits:http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/gallery?...394704&photo=1 / Comcast

hmmm great news ,i think its missing something idk what though,maybe more height to the roof?

Was the first comcast tower not ugly enough?

Also a video press release on the comcast corporate website:

http://corporate.comcast.com/news-in...-press-release

Reminds me of NBC tower in Chicago a bit. Goes with the media theme I guess.

http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/Im...CTower-009.jpg
http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/Bu...etail/1042.php

I like the way the spire is integrated into the design and doesn't feel tacked-on.

^yeah ,and the original comcast center was better,this one needs something more to it.

OK, that explains the new tower's exterior design - it's got to be a reference to the NBC Tower.

I love the 975' Comcast Center and had high hopes for the design of this long-rumored new tower. The proposed tower is fine in and of itself (and the interior looks fantastic), but I'm disappointed with its integration into the city skyline.

Having a similar roof height right next to the Comcast Center is a big mistake in my opinion; it should have been 1,121 feet to the ROOF, and having a 2nd setback with the spire extending up to the 1,200 or 1,300 mark would have looked better.

This Building will defiantly have a two face syndrome to it, I love the skinny side, but the other side is decent looking not as good.

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hpho...74880479_n.jpg

Posted in the Philly thread.

I love the height and the jobs this will bring to the city. I hope the design changes though. It's pretty ugly.

I wish the roof height was taller. Not digging the blade as the defining height factor. It loos like CC roof height might be taller.

There is still time to make adjustments I hope, but Comcast and Foster were very detailed on this project.

The positive is this building will def. be built and it will start soon.

Wow im not at all impressed, its massing is very bulky, its extremely overpowering on the whole skyline and not in a good way. I never complain about spires but this tower shouldn't have those fins(?) on the side, the roof should reach 1,121'. Redesign, Redesign,Redesign!!!!!

Am curious on how this will be illuminated


The spire seems like it would lend itself to something but not sure what

Also imagine the larger floor hieghts will illuminate like the top of the current CC

From the broad side it looks stumpy

Obviously Norman Foster designed buildings are controversial with many and this building certainly does just that. I like how it looks from many angles. A lot of this building depends on the glass skin. The original Comcast tower and the Cira Centre have incredible exteriors. Hoping for something like those.

Is it possible that the roof height in the renderings is just wrong? If the spire is supposed to be 125 feet and the total height is 1121 feet, then wouldn't it be logical that the roof height is 996 feet? That would certainly be taller than Comcast Center's height of 975.

edit: now I get it. The 996 foot roof height is the height of the little piece before the spire. That sucks.

Video

It would appeqar the outer elevators will be glass, interesting for a building of this height - the ride to the restaurant on the roof may be worth the trip

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...240319651.html

Honestly, this is a very 'industrial' looking design and something pretty different for the brethren of Philly's highrises. It took us this long to get a Supertall and a multibillion dollar company to do so. Philly should be proud to have this in its backyard.:cheers:

I think at the moment it has a lot of weight on it being that there are still so few towers. Once there is a little bit more tower infil this is going to be beastly. I'd imagine the view from the musuem of art is going to be unbelievable.

The whining about this project absolutely amazes me.

If you want whining, just wait until they have a public meeting with the blue hairs at the apt building next door.

So it would appear that Liberty 1 and 2 are blocke by this towere in view from the Art Museum IIWII but interesting as they will vanish from a more know vantage of the Philly Skyline

Summer! Et tu brute!?

The staunch defender of all Philadelphia buildings--most of which are so ugly I wouldn't wish them on my enemy's hometown--and here, in the presence of Lord Foster, and a building with so much textural nuance that it may not be till 2017 till we fully understand its complexity---this, this building, somehow doesn't pass muster in your eyes?

The more I look at this the more I like it

It is very industrial with a strong tie to media and to art decco

will be interesting to see how the cladding comes but this could have the opportunity to have the industrial staying power of the Hancock Building in Chicago with a strong touch of Rockefeller not yet mentioned in the setbacks

I agree with your sentiments. I'm just happy this is happening.

I agree, at first I was unimpressed but I'm actually starting to really like it. I think that the actual physical model looks fantastic and way better than the renderings.

I think it would look better without the thing on top. I like the first one better.


http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...?viewGallery=y

^same, SOMEONE DO A DIAGRAM

The way the white lines are along the sides make the building appear small, almost like a 20 story building, but its an illusion because with in 2 of the lines is about 3 floors.

Congrats to Philly! Soon SF, NY, Philly, and LA will have towers of over 1000 ft under construction.

This thing is absolutely massive when compared to the CC right next to it.

I like it actually! It's better than I expected, although I'm not a fan of Norman Foster. They should have picked someone else to design this thing.

The American Commerce Center was a better design for that spot.

http://designphiladelphia.files.word...rce-center.jpg
http://designphiladelphia.files.word...rce-center.jpg

Awesome! I don't love the exterior appearance yet, but past experience has taught me that it's difficult to make a valid judgment from renderings, and there are some really unique interior features.

Huge buildings like this will always seem out of place when you look at a rendering, because they haven't earned their place in the skyline yet. But after months of site preparation, months of foundation digging, and then years of gradual climbing, they become a natural part of the city. The construction becomes so normal that it's strange once they're actually complete.

This building looks much shorter than it is, not just because of the large east-west dimension, but also because of the horizontal structural elements on the outside. They create the appearance of individual stories, even though each one is 4 stories (probably 60-70 feet).

Can't wait to see some digging!

The rendering where it's shown in Philly doesn't look to bad. The design needs improving the American Commerce center had a nice design.

Eff them. Just tell them the'll put a bingo hall in it.

Looks like the building is giving the bird.

source: http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...kyscraper.html

It's what it needs to be, an innovative (cleverly designed vertical - unlike those in Silicon Valley) tech center.

Instead of through the middle like a more traditional skyscraper, the taller vertical strip will serve as the building's core, with exterior elevators, placed at one side of the see-through, all-glass tower.

There will be 13 "sky gardens," or three-story atriums, for software designers, engineers, and product developers to collaborate, and the building will be topped by a blade extending about 150 feet higher than the Comcast Center.

Instead of offices, the building will be mostly broken into "lofts."

Well this is deja vu to about 10 years ago, huh?

I love this. I think the design is effective within the context of the company's broadcast roots and direction. I think the jobs it has the potential to bring to the city are crucial. I think it's LONG overdue we have a 1,000' jawn in Center City.

Just remember to thank Ruben Amaro for ruining the Phillies so Comcast didn't have to pay them what Time Warner pays the Dodgers, thus freeing up money to build this monster.

I don't get the griping. There was a lot of griping about the last Comcast Center when they changed the design from stone to reflective glass and kept the height 25' under 1,000' and all that. Ultimately everyone got over it and got used to its place in the skyline. I think this will be the same way.

Don't complain. Be proud.

gotta agree with flyer fan. strong presence, a welcome addition. aside from height, i prefer it design-wise to the ACC

Fantastic! This reminds me of the very avant-garde skyscrapers going up in London and the Australian cities, the ones I always wish they would build here in the states, and now we finally get one! It marries that 21st-century industrial look with nods to art deco styling. Altogether a great new icon on the Philadelphia skyline. :tup:

It looks like a walkie talkie!!! :yuck:
The Comcast Center looks like a flash drive!

The original Comcast tower is great imo. This.... It looks a bit clunky and awkward.

Excellent post by MJ. Pretty much sums up my feelings.

I do love the design, and while not sold on the exterior, I feel if clad well it could really look sharp.

My only real gripe is that skyline composition-wise, the location is poor for this specific design and height. That said I'd rather learn to live with it than not have a building of this caliber go up.

Just for shits and giggles, I threw together a crappy rendering of what this tower would look like between 19th and 20th on Arch, if the ACC had been built on the 18-19th plot like originally proposed.

http://i.imgur.com/iHayGEd.jpg

I'm loving the look of it. It has a very distinct European look. Kind of hard to describe, but it seems like something you would see under construction in Russia or Germany.

very cool design

More London I would say. It looks very British, with the style and engineering being their traditional "function over form". As Americans this seems a little strange to us...

I really wish the ACC would find a way to return to a proposal again.

I don't really like this building, but I have to admit at least Philly is getting a supertall which makes it cool.......

ACC worked much better on the skyline, this thing belongs in London. This just looks out of place. add more setbacks and make it thinner then it might have a chance.