This Philadelphia Inquirer article is behind a paywall, but I can tell you that it speaks to the city’s increasing use of modular construction for infill apartment buildings: Building modularly can save 20% on total construction costs, he said. Projects can be constructed in half… Read More
When I was living in Philadelphia as a graduate student, new development was seen as a bit of a gift. I remember developers telling me that it costs the same to build in Philly as it does in New York, except that the rents are… Read More
I came across the above floor plan over the weekend. I reshared it on Twitter and there was then a pretty good discussion about what people like and don’t like. I mean, who doesn’t like looking at floor plans? The suite is 790 square feet… Read More
ISA Architects recently completed a project in North Philadelphia called Tiny Tower. It is a 6-level, 1,250 square foot single family home built on a small 12′ x 29′ lot. That’s about the footprint of two parking spaces. It feels like a house you might… Read More
When I lived in Philadelphia I survived on food truck food. My go-tos were an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich for $2.50, a bowl of spaghetti for $4.50, and a pretty substantial chicken burrito for somewhere around $5 or $6. The food was good. It… Read More
One of the small things that I liked about living in Philadelphia was the rational way in which street addresses tended to work. Here’s an example. Let’s say you wanted to go to Brooks Brothers in Center City and you discovered that the address was… Read More
I’m in Philly right now for a good friend’s wedding. I always feel nostalgic when I come back to this city. Some of my most memorable years were spent here. I grew a lot in those 3 years. I also think that Philly is a… Read More
Dezeen recently featured the above project in Philadelphia by Interface Studio Architects. It’s called Powerhouse and the goal was to provide a variety of different housing typologies and tenures within a dense infill project that, at the same time, remains in keeping with its context. The… Read More
The Center City District and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation recently published a report called: State of Center City 2016. The objective was to measure the progress being made in Philadelphia’s downtown. I moved out of Center City (Rittenhouse Square) in 2009, but I still like… Read More
Despite not being the first example of infrastructural adaptive reuse, the High Line in New York has certainly kickstarted an urban trend. Cities all around the world now want their own “version of the High Line.” Philly is working on a new “rail park.” I toured the… Read More
BRANDON DONNELLY 