A dated article from The Bulletin???
http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19851216&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8
07/15/2008
Reimagining The Skyline
By: Erin Maguire , The Bulletin
Tall buildings are Gene Kohn's specialty. And if the proposed 1500-foot American Commerce Center is built at 18th and Arch streets, his preference for buildings that pierce the clouds will dramatically change Philadelphia's skyline.
Mr. Kohn was born in the city whose skyline he hopes to change. He aspired to be a sportscaster as a child, but was dissuaded by his parents, who "didn't think that being a radio announcer was that distinguished a career," he said. Trained instead in the design of modern buildings at the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Kohn and his firm, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) have changed the skylines of cities worldwide.
Since its inception, KPF has made its mark in over 35 countries. Currently, construction is underway for two KPF-designed, sky-stabbing giants in Shanghai and Hong Kong, soon to be the world's tallest buildings. The 1,588-square-foot Shanghai World Financial Center will open this year, and the 1,612-square-foot International Commerce Center in Hong Kong is scheduled for completion 2010.
KPF has already altered the skyline of Philadelphia. In the 1980s, KPF designed Mellon Bank Center, originally slated to be as tall as One Liberty Place, as well as Two Logan Square, One Logan Square and its adjacent Four Seasons Hotel. KPF recently designed the US Airways terminal at the Philadelphia International Airport, and Huntsman Hall, at the Wharton School of Business.
Of the American Commerce Center project, Charles Madden, the world-renowned sculptor and a longtime friend of Mr. Kohn, said, "It will be nothing but the most spectacular thing in Philadelphia. It will be a world-class destination."
If Philadelphia approves the project - the brainchild of Garrett Miller, president of Walnut Street Capital - it will not only be the tallest building in Philadelphia, but one of the tallest in the nation. To put its 1,500-foot height in perspective, the Empire State Building is 1,250-feet-high and the World Trade Center towers were 1,362- and 1,368-feet-high each.
Mr. Kohn said he sees the American Commerce Center as a combination of retail, hotel and office spaces - a model already popular in Asia.
"It's the way to go," Mr. Kohn said. "It makes the community of the building more exciting and establishes a sense of security, with people being awake around the clock."
The only Philadelphia building with a similar model is One Logan Square, which has a hotel and office space, but no retail. If the American Commerce Center is constructed, it will include a 26-story hotel, a garden accessible to hotel guests, three to six stories of street-accessible retail along Arch Street, and a 63 stories of office space. All parking, including for bicycles, will be underground.
The top of Mr. Kohn's plans for the American Commerce Center would include a spire pointing to the Parkway, "an important, welcoming gesture," he said, that will "pay homage and respect that aspect of the city." Mr. Kohn said he hopes that if the building is constructed, it will enhance the city and contribute to a "truly exciting downtown that doesn't need New York or D.C. to help it," he said.
Despite the journalistic aspirations of his youth, Mr. Kohn always nurtured an interest in art.
"I loved to paint and play the piano back then," Mr. Kohn said of his school days. "I had that creative side and when I got accepted to Penn, I met with the dean and he suggested that I study architecture. He felt that even if I didn't become an architect that the education was so good that with my creative skills I could find a career."
Upon graduating, Mr. Kohn joined the Navy in 1953, where he put his architectural and artistic skills to use. Mr. Kohn was commissioned to rebuild the senior U.S. Navy officers club at Port Leautey, Morocco, where he was stationed.
"I had to design it, get it built, I actually did all the paintings, because I loved watercolor, in two weeks," Mr. Kohn said.
After his service ended, Mr. Kohn returned to Penn and earned his master's degree, and then worked in Philadelphia for the Redevelopment Authority. He then worked with Nolen & Swinburne, and ultimately with the city's largest firm, Vincent Kling and Associates.
"[Kling] knew how to make people happy. I learned a great deal working there and I gained a great deal of confidence ... I won two national [American Institute of Architects] awards," Mr. Kohn said.
In the 1960s, Mr. Kohn moved to New York, where he thought it was "easiest to succeed" in the architecture business.
After a two-year stint at Welton Becket Associates, Mr. Kohn joined John Carl Warnecke and Associates to build its New York office, and became its president and partner. Most importantly, he established a relationship with his future partner, William Pedersen. Sheldon Fox, Mr. Kohn's other partner, joined him at JCW.
When Mr. Kohn founded KPF in 1976, his parents thought he was "absolutely crazy." At the time, only 60 percent of architects were employed. Through research, Mr. Kohn realized that "a lot of great firms started in depressions or recessions and obviously started at the bottom."
"It's a good time to talk to clients; they have no work; they have plenty of time, they give you advice," he said.
After founding the firm, Mr. Kohn read in The New York Times that ABC had bought an armory on 66th Street, off Central Park West, where they had plans for a soap opera studio.
"We were the only ones interviewed, so it's lucky we won, because it would be embarrassing to lose with no other competition," Mr. Kohn said of the firm's first big break.
That job opened the door for the 14 projects KPF completed for ABC over a decade.
"If you are not global by 1990, half of you will be out of business, " Mr. Kohn told an Urban Land Institute Conference in 1985.
At that time, KPF became an international enterprise, designing in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo and elsewhere.
Charles Madden remembers meeting Mr. Kohn when he proposed his designs for the structures adorning Logan Circle. Mr. Madden was then the commissioner of art and architecture in Philadelphia. In that meeting, Mr. Madden said he was "struck" by Mr. Kohn's "humility and wisdom."
Mr. Madden said of Mr. Kohn's architectural contributions, "he is one the greatest architects Philadelphia has ever had, and of all time. He's one of the top three or four architects in the world."
Though Mr. Kohn founded KPF, the firm's success cannot be attributed to just him.
On the team for the American Commerce Center are: A. Eugene Kohn, KPF's managing partner, William Louie, design partner, Lloyd Sigal, senior associate and project manager, and Lei Li, project designer.
While KPF has worked all over the world, designing for Philadelphia strikes a special chord with Mr. Kohn's past.
"To contribute to the city where I grew up in is exciting. I've worked in a lot of cities around the world, but it's special to come back here," he said.
Erin Maguire can be reached at
[email protected]
Prev
great news for Philly
I am usally more the Chicago type but really would love to see this one rise as it is not your usual box but a very nicely designed building
Linear Mode
