PAU designed JFK Towers to bridge Philadelphia’s rich history with its burgeoning knowledge-based future. The massing of the East office tower is a confluence of urban and programmatic forces, embodying the need for larger floors at the base and top of the tower, the need to respond to both the train station and the historic diagonal of Woodland Walk emanating from the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, as well as the architectural desire to create a dynamic tri-partite volume that flips symmetrically to become itself and dances as one moves around the city.

The expression of the East Tower celebrates the diverse architectural heritage of Philadelphia, weaving color, texture and light in a manner reminiscent of the work of both Joseph and Anni Albers. Terra Cotta, used throughout historic Philadelphia, is generously deployed wherever humans interact with the building, both at the welcoming arcades of the ground plane and at the vertical breaks that form the nature-filled amenity spaces in the sky. The distinct red sandstone color of the East Tower extends the coloration of the Fisher Fine Arts Library designed by Frank Furness; the rich color weave of the façade offers a modern interpretation of Philadelphia’s extensive use of red and gray brick as well as the bright red metal rail cars that once traversed the Yards. The work of Furness also informed the arches at the base of the building, recalling the unorthodox modernisms of Yamasaki, Kahn and Pei’s daringly brilliant Society Hill towers.

The higher tower’s angular form and generous glazing mark the building’s kinship to Cesar Pelli’s nearby Cira Centre, also built as a pioneering project by Brandywine. The 512’ tall East Tower provides 34 floors of office space, 6,600 square feet of retail space, an amenity floor with a porch overlooking the station and Center City, and is designed to achieve LEED © Silver Certification. The public ground level is open and airy, with a nearly 40’ tall pedestrian arcade that aligns with the arcade of the Bulletin Building, invites pedestrians from One Drexel Square park, and echoes the colonnade of the train station.

The East Tower was designed in conversation with its complementary sibling, the two structures dancing together in scale and rhythm to create a unified sense of place and openness for the diverse communities of University City and Western Philadelphia, many of whom were consulted during the design process. See how the towers work together on the West Tower page.

As the neighborhood evolves, Schuylkill Yards will remain a centripetal force for residents, students, medical professionals, families, businesses, collaborators, travelers, park goers, and more. The East Tower anchors this transformation, turning an underutilized yard into a prominent feature of the city, the beginning of a new downtown for one of the nation’s most important cities.