Design as Optimism

By Nigel Dancey

From the very beginning, Philadelphia’s streets, scale, and neighborhoods were the inspiration for the Comcast Technology Center and the Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs — two very different projects. Foster + Partners was intent on repairing the streetscape where it had been broken, building on the city’s storied history and urban heritage, and helping build community among staff, visitors, and the public. 

Extending and repairing the urban realm, encouraging pedestrians and activating streets, was a central tenet of both sites. Philadelphia is an exemplar of prioritizing public spaces and we wanted to celebrate this aspect in the designs. Comcast extends the historic Rittenhouse Square neighborhood to the north, while the Clifton Center extends the landscaped Penn Campus to the south. In addition to the street level experience, each building had an important sculptural presence on the cityscape. This helped us symbolically reflect the character of the city and these institutions on the skyline.  

TOWER POWER 

The mixed-use Comcast Technology Center brings life and activity back to its neighborhood, extending the work done at the Comcast Headquarters building. At an urban scale, the project is conceived as a welcoming addition to the neighborhood, integrated with its shops, bars and restaurants. The project seeks to extend pedestrian routes through the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood beyond Market Street where the city grid was previously interrupted by train lines and, historically, Frank Furness’ “Chinese wall.” 

Comcast was keen for the building to act as a catalyst to bring people back into Center City. They want to encourage the exceptional young talent that graduates each year from the city’s famed universities to stay in Philadelphia. Comcast was also intent on supporting its staff by creating a desirable and dynamic work environment, more commonly seen in Silicon Valley. 

Reflecting Philadelphia’s great civic tradition of public spaces and the art-filled lobby of the adjacent Comcast Headquarters, the base of the building features a sheltered winter garden that foregrounds the main entrance. This “urban room” combines the best elements of a lobby, a plaza, and social spaces to invite residents and visitors into the building. It features several site-specific works of art — including “For Philadelphia” by Jenny Holzer and “Exploded Paradigm” by Conrad Shawcross — that animate the space and introduce the public to the creative energy that fuels Comcast. Rising up to the upper lobby level reveals “The Universal Sphere,” a structure that houses a unique cinematic experience exploring the power of ideas, created by Steven Spielberg for all ages. The Sphere is wrapped in a series of interlocking panels that create an infinite geometric pattern. The adjacent Vernick Coffee Bar welcomes visitors and employees to the building, offering both grab-and-go and table service. 

An incredible level of detail went into the design of the lobby — the trees and the urban room, with restaurants spilling out onto the street, were carefully considered with the client team. The eateries were painstakingly selected; the whole process was an exercise in curating the ultimate Philly experience. The building responds to the city’s active street culture towards the east, west and northern edges. Below street level, a sheltered subterranean connection passing through the center of the building, lined with shops, works of art and seating areas, links the existing Comcast Center with the new building and the city’s subway system. The generosity of the lobby space extends to the office floors which share a series of sky gardens as an amenity for staff. 

This unparalleled experience of Philadelphia reaches its apex in the striking triple-height restaurant, SkyHigh, featuring a bespoke mirrored ceiling that reflects the city from all angles. This unique feature stretches across the length of the entire floor, infusing the space with dynamism, reflecting the bustling charm of the restaurant space, and multiplying the views of the skyline from every corner. The experience of the Philadelphia grid is apparent to whoever has visited the bar there.  

THE HOSPITAL OF THE FUTURE 

The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs, a flexible inpatient facility, serves as a new institutional and architectural icon for Penn Medicine on its extensive campus in West Philadelphia. Co-located within the same complex as some of the world’s most advanced research laboratories and specialized imaging facilities, the Clifton Center places the patient at the center and enables collaboration in research. The new building serves as a blueprint for the “hospital of the future,” with a focus on patient experience and comfort, providing the most cutting-edge medical care in the world.  

Over the years, the medical campus had become a harsh, car-dominated environment. We were determined to reconnect the Clifton Center with the lush, landscaped character of the academic campus. 

Our initial design ideas were about making the hospital transparent at street level and bringing the campus into the building. The design is sustainable, efficient, uplifting, and sensitive to its surroundings, responding to the needs of people — material and spiritual, measurable and intangible. With this approach, the patient comes first. Their experience starts with a reassuring welcome in the lobby, and extends through comfortable wards and inspiring spaces, such as the soaring cafe and surrounding gardens.  

Throughout the ground level, there are engaging works of art including a signature sculpture by Maya Lin and a major mural by Odili Donald Odita. Circulation areas are indirectly lit for patient comfort, while also cultivating respite, rhythm and wayfinding for visitors and staff as they navigate the building.   

In addition to being a world-class medical facility, the building serves as a bridge across a bustling urban campus. Continuing Philadelphia’s wonderful civic tradition, the design creates a new public garden, anchoring the Pavilion and creating new connections between the hospital and the university. The form of the building — and the color and articulation of the façade — references Penn’s historic architecture. The building’s curve references the rotunda of the adjacent University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Gardens planted around the public spaces are visible and accessible to visitors. A new landscaped pedestrian path, Discovery Walk, provides a direct connection with the public transport system.  

It was critical from the outset that the new building should knit the medical campus with the rest of the university. Designed by Sir Peter Shepheard and Laurie Olin beginning in the 1970s, the university grounds have matured to be one of the best examples of an inner-city campus.  

Fundamental to the design of the building was its relationship with the Archaeology Museum, designed by Wilson Eyre and Cope & Stewardson, on the adjacent site. The work of Cope & Stewardson led the campus to have a unique and coherent identity of “burnt” brick, which generations of architects, including Louis Kahn with his laboratories on Hamilton Walk, reproduced to create a collective identity for the campus. 

The design team felt that this distinctive color should find expression on the skyline, which developed into a series of full-scale tests to determine a suitable complement to the museum. The resulting design of the metallic façade is a contemporary interpretation that celebrates the campus’ historic identity at a transformative scale.  

The street level experience for pedestrians was also a fundamental part of the urban solution. The recreation of Hamilton Walk between the museum and the pavilion restores a connection with the University City Train Station and was an important gesture to a future masterplan intended to foster cohesion with the rest of the campus. The desire to have a glazed façade that wraps around the ground floor of the hospital, showcasing the artwork inside, prioritizes the pedestrian experience and animates the streetside experience. 

As a center for cutting edge medical care, the Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs is a meaningful resource that touches so many lives in the local community. The building is “of Philadelphia” not only for the many generations of families who experience its world-class care, but also for the incredible staff who dedicate their lives to making a real difference. These buildings are both a reflection and an embodiment of the city of Philadelphia and its unique urban fabric, standing proud in their environments and expressing optimism in distinct ways. They are both firmly rooted in the existing landscape of the city, giving back to the communities which they serve. 

NIGEL DANCEY, a senior executive partner at Foster + Partners, has led major projects including the Clifton Center for Medical Breakthroughs in Philadelphia, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and Memorial Sloane Kettering Pavilion in New York. His portfolio also includes the Comcast Technology Center, 425 Park Avenue, and the new JP Morgan HQ at 270 Park Avenue in New York. 

CAPTIONS: 

STANDING TALL: A view of the Comcast Technology Center from Benjamin Franklin Parkway  

PHOTO: FOSTER + PARTNERS 

ALL ARE WELCOME: The Comcast Technology Center features an “urban room” on the ground floor — a combination lobby, plaza, and social space designed to draw in the public.  
PHOTO: FOSTER + PARTNERS 

CONNECT THE DOTS: New pedestrian paths at the Clifton Center improve access to transit and the rest of the university, while the lobby provides interest and action at the street level. 

PHOTO: FOSTER + PARTNERS 

BRICK CITY: The Clifton Center for Medical Breakthrough uses shape and color as a visual connection to Penn’s historic campus in West Philadelphia (top right and below).   

PHOTO: FOSTER + PARTNERS