ISA

FITTING IN

Philadelphia is in the midst of a multi-family housing boom, with hundreds of mid-rise podium buildings going up across the city. While this trend has added to the city’s supply of dense urban housing, too often the buildings feel generic, expressing their modest budgets and maximized zoning envelopes more than their local context. The plan and entry experience for this 49-unit, 5-story mixed-use multifamily were inspired by the site’s odd geometry and adjacent edges. Sandwiched between a sunken railroad right-of-way, a historic brick industrial building, and a new neighborhood school, the building’s context contributed to its character.