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January 29, 2019

CTBUH Philadelphia to Host Presentation at American Water Headquarters in Camden

CTBUH Philadelphia to Host Presentation at American Water Headquarters in Camden

On January 29, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Philadelphia, will host a presentation of Robert A.M. Stern Architects’ Camden Waterfront Master Plan at the new American Water headquarters at One Water Street, followed by a tour of the recently-opened building, also designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. The presentation will highlight the public-private partnerships involved and future high-performance buildings envisioned.

Developed by Liberty Property Trust, One Water Street represents the first commercial development in the Camden Waterfront Master Plan for a $1 billion, 20-acre mixed-use urban neighborhood on the Delaware River. The development will include 1.4 million square feet of build-to-suit office projects for corporations, a hotel, residential buildings, and street-level shopfronts. Over $8 million is planned to be invested in the reconstruction and enhancement of the existing waterfront park. The plan will extend Camden’s existing street grid and utilities, connecting the new neighborhood to downtown Camden and Center City Philadelphia with new pedestrian walkways, bike paths, and shuttlebus and ferry service.

The five-story, 230,000-square-foot American Water headquarters is the first building and centerpiece of Robert A.M. Stern Architects' master plan for the Camden Waterfront. A notable feature of the building's design is its transparent four-story atrium, illuminated by a skylight and crisscrossed by upper-level bridges, which frames views through to the riverfront park and the Philadelphia skyline across the Delaware River. A lantern at the north end of the building signals a gathering place adjacent to the building’s fifth-floor training and conference facilities. Co-working and community spaces are incorporated throughout the building. Metal-and-glass facades recall the site’s industrial past, boldly expressing through transparent glass the traveling stair that will foster face-to-face interaction throughout the dynamic workplace. At night, both the lantern and the stair glow, giving the building a strongly identifiable profile. A large-scale sign atop the building, a statement of corporate and civic pride in this important setting, is legible from across the river, its scale and frankly expressed scaffolding again recalling the site’s industrial past.

The building targets LEED Platinum certification, with efficient water use, including graywater from runoff; daylight harvesting; high-performance mechanical systems; green roofs and landscape; and convenient access to public mass transit. Chamfered panels framing the windows on the west facade will maximize views to Philadelphia and the Ben Franklin Bridge while mitigating solar heat gain. RAMSA Partners Robert A.M. Stern, Meghan McDermott, and Graham Wyatt led the design team on the American Water headquarters and the design on the master plan.

American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company, providing services to an estimated 14 million people in 45 states and in Ontario, Canada.

Liberty Property Trust is a leader in the development, acquisition, leasing and management of industrial and office properties in the United States and the United Kingdom, with 103 million square feet of industrial and office property in its portfolio. Robert A.M. Stern Architects' previous collaborations with Liberty Property Trust include headquarters and office buildings for Comcast and GlaxoSmithKline in Philadelphia and for PPL in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

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