PHILADELPHIA | Family Court Building | 15 flrs | 265 ft

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by dlg569

Does it cover the entire lot? I know the city building next to it has a small parking lot behind it.

Yes it does cover the entire lot.

[summersm343]

http://www.philly.com/philly/columni...mpid=124488429

This was posted by Bryson on the Philadelphia Development Thread. It confirms the height of the building will be exactly 250 feet with 14 floors. If a 15th floor is added, the height will be 265 feet. The building is also being planned and designed to accommodate a future expansion if ever needed

[PhiLaw]

http://C:\Users\DJ\Desktop\Family Court.jpeg

[hammersklavier]

Originally Posted by PhiLaw

http://C:\Users\DJ\Desktop\Family Court.jpeg

Please upload your photo to an image server (like flickr, photobucket, or picasa) and use the [IMG] tags to bracket the resultant hyperlink.

[PhiLaw]

Originally Posted by hammersklavier

Please upload your photo to an image server (like flickr, photobucket, or picasa) and use the [IMG] tags to bracket the resultant hyperlink.

[shakman]

Looks like the ramp into the hole is starting to give.

[Londonee]

Did anyone see the new Buffalo courthouse:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2231

At least there's something interesting about the building. We're getting a plain, clunky, over-sized glass rectangle.

[summersm343]

Can't win them all I guess

[Insoluble]

Originally Posted by Londonee

Did anyone see the new Buffalo courthouse:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...postcount=2231

At least there's something interesting about the building. We're getting a plain, clunky, over-sized glass rectangle.

What, that it's sitting in the middle of a suburban lawn and has virtually no street frontage? I'll take what Philly's getting over that any day. I mean, it's a nice building and all, but good urban design trumps sexy architecture. Buffalo deserves better.

[Londonee]

Originally Posted by Insoluble

What, that it's sitting in the middle of a suburban lawn and has virtually no street frontage? I'll take what Philly's getting over that any day. I mean, it's a nice building and all, but good urban design trumps sexy architecture. Buffalo deserves better.

Eh, I'm not saying i want the exact building that was built in buffalo, but there's certainly something to be said about doing something interesting and dynamic...the building we are getting provides the opposite and is purely functional. Civic buildings used to be sources of great architecture and civic pride, I'd wager that the Buffalo building, though not right contextually for Philly, certainly pushes towards this, whilst our does not.

[hammersklavier]

I rather prefer that looks-to-be-abandoned hotel or apartments building across the street from that new Buffalo courthouse.

[theWatusi]

I drove by this afternoon while I was cruising around in circles trying to find some street parking for the home show. Didn't take a picture, but that's one deep freaking hole.

It looked like good headway is being made on the foundation.

[summersm343]

Great news! Hopefully one of us can get out to take some pictures one day when it's not unbearably cold

[summersm343]

A lot of images/renderings of the new Family Court Building from NakedPhilly today.


Same old Render


A close up... not bad looking


Back of the building coming up 15th Street from the North. I like it actually

Now the construction updates.











Concrete is starting to pour...

Here is the link
http://nakedphilly.com/logan-square/...n-the-horizon/

[phillyaggie]

I'm with Londonee on this. Philly's court building could have been much better. And how is it doing on green design principles? What we're getting is about as plain a design as you can get and it's still costing more than $100million.

The Buffalo building provides for green space when that part of town seems to lack a lot of it. NYC's government center with the court house and other federal and state buildings is around huge public plazas and green spaces-- that does not make it suburban-like.

The history of this project is riddled with corruption and insider-dealings. This court house could have possibly gone somewhere else... there were other ideas out there, the Provident Mutual Life building being prime (and really, a better spot for families and kids rather than in the middle of the downtown hubbub). Too bad we're stuck with a giant moving box with a cut-out on its side so that perhaps a lawyer or a judge will someday close shop and pick it up like a box full of paperwork and move it out of our sights...

[Insoluble]

Originally Posted by phillyaggie

The Buffalo building provides for green space when that part of town seems to lack a lot of it. NYC's government center with the court house and other federal and state buildings is around huge public plazas and green spaces-- that does not make it suburban-like.

Sorry, but I'm just not buying it. With all the complaining we hear about the Independence hall grass lot collection, I can't see how plonking an important municipal building in the middle of a sea of grass is in any way good urban development. Especially considering the history of urban renewal in Buffalo, I think the city deserves much better than what it's getting. the building itself is interesting, but I wouldn't trade up a bland building that meets the street well and has good urban form for an interesting building in the middle of an office park. Not at that location at least.

Originally Posted by phillyaggie

The history of this project is riddled with corruption and insider-dealings. This court house could have possibly gone somewhere else....

On this we are agreed.

at any rate. Here's a photo update from today:

[summersm343]

Awesome, seems like they're moving right along.

[sciguy0504]

If you take away the grass from the Buffalo project, it still looks better and, at the very least, more interesting than what we have.

[Insoluble]

But that's the thing isn't it. Would you trade up for a more interesting building if it meant we had to have a huge lawn tearing a hole in the street scape? I sure wouldn't. This building may not be an award winner, but it isn't all that bad. It's no Symphony House at least. And it meets the street well. It has good urban form, which is probably the most important constraint (other than functionality as a court house of course) for this particular project.

[PhiLaw]

(not linked)