Bossone Center (ASIAN ARCHITECTS / DESIGNERS / ARTISTS OF PHILLY)

I.M. Pei's Bossone Center Presents a Bold Entry to Drexel University's Campus

By Steve Baron

This story is part of a series featuring Asian Architects / Designers / Artists of Philly. We will be highlighting incredible murals that are a part of Mural Arts Philadelphia, urban street art that is part of Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection or other collections, urban spaces that embody Asian culture, and buildings designed by some of the most renowned architects from around the world. We will be featuring short blog posts written by members of Urban Design Committee, as well as guest posts by Committee on the Environment, Environmental Justice subcommittee. Stay tuned for more!

At the gateway to Drexel University at 32nd and Market Streets, behind the Frank Furness-designed Centennial National Bank building, lies another work by a famous architect: the Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center, designed by I.M. Pei, the Pritzker Prize-winning Chinese-American architect.

The Bossone building, which was managed by Burt Hill Architects and P. Agnes, opened in 2004, and features a striking 7-story sideways pyramid-shaped public atrium that welcomes visitors during the day and glows white at night. [1] The sharply angled pyramid may harken back to Pei's earlier designs of the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston and the Louvre Museum in Paris.

Overall, the Bossone building combines 80,000 square feet of new construction with 70,000 square feet of renovated space within the adjacent Commonwealth Hall, creating an integrated facility for multi-disciplinary research. When visitors enter, they are greeted at a lively reception area and student café, and they can also see a large lecture hall, an exhibition lab, and an electron microscope suite. There are 77 offices, 48 teaching laboratories, 37 lab support spaces, and 8 conference rooms. [3] On the roof there is a raised garden terrace that takes in vistas of the University City neighborhood.

Sustainability and energy efficiency are central to the project, with new HVAC and heat recovery systems, solar harvesting shading, and an innovative Diurnal Ice Storage Cooling System. [2]

The Bossone building is named after Edmund D. Bossone and his wife Kay, who are among Drexel's leading philanthropists. Edmund was an engineer at PECO, and is now a real estate magnate. Kay also donated toward Robert Venturi's URBN Center, with a fashion runway named after her. -Ends-

Photo Caption:

The Edmund D. Bossone Research Enterprise Center at 3126 Market Street (via Drexel University).

Works Cited

[1] “Bossone Research Enterprise Center at Drexel University.” Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

https://www.pcf-p.com/projects/bossone-research-enterprise-center-drexel-university/

[2] “Drexel University – Edmund Bossone Research Center.” P. Agnes.

https://www.pagnes.com/project/drexel-university-edmund-bossone-research-center/

[3] “Remembering Edmund D. Bossone.” Drexel University, 14 March 2014.

https://events.drexel.edu/EventList.aspx?view=EventDetails&eventidn=4972&information_id=15778

[4] “Meet Our Donors: Kay Bossone.” Drexel University.

https://drexel.plannedgiving.org/drexel/giving/3.html?donor=bossone