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Originally Posted by PHL10
He has brought this up before and I know what London means by the “Philly Speical”. It’s basically a vertical slab. I think maybe our rectangular lots lead to this design. It just goes vertical with no setbacks. Good recent examples would be 2116 Chestnut and really EVO if it didn’t have the slanted roof. New York seems to have a lot of square footprinted buildings which seem to naturally lead to a more pleasing design, 1706 Rittenhouse is s a good example of a Philadelphia equivalent. It’s attractive not necessarily to the architectural details but simply due to its slender massing. Imagine if 1706 stretched for another two equivalent footprints to the West. That would make it a “Philly Special”.
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We're getting off topic, but until someone posts a rendering of 1911 Walnut, then why not continue the discussion?
Lots of Philly buildings have that dull squat square design, true. But I think the most common, worst flaw is the materials. Too much cheapo paneling and boring red brick bases (even when the rest of the tower is not brick). Take any of those boring boxes and upgrade the materials and you'd wind up with a much much better looking building. The worst offenders in my book are: Southstar Lofts, Homes2Suites, and the still u/c Am Rev Museum. I'd also add Symphony House and 10 Ritt to the list for falling so short of their expectations and price tags. Both are billed as premium luxury condo towers, but feature underwhelming designs and cheap exterior paneling. 10 Ritt is nicer of the two, but it's location and pricing warrants warrants a far better design.
Traditional designs outfitted with cheap materials do not work. Builders that can't afford high quality materials should instead opt for modern designs and materials like concrete and glass. The RATR, Murano, and St. James are good examples. And fortunately, Southern Land is utilizing the same architects that designed the latter two projects.
p.s., I don't buy the "Philly Special" argument either, shoddy design/materials plague other cities as well.