Camden Waterfront Master Plan

The new headquarters for American Water at One Water Street is the centerpiece of our plan for the Camden Waterfront, a vibrant, mixed-use community with pedestrian-friendly streets and a network of open spaces that will reconnect downtown Camden with its historic riverfront. The five-story building will provide a long and low backdrop to a new riverfront park. A four-story-high transparent atrium, illuminated by a skylight and crisscrossed by upper-level bridges, will frame views through to the park and the Philadelphia skyline across the Delaware River. The building's metal-and-glass facades will recall the site's industrial past, boldly expressing through transparent glass curtain-wall the traveling stair that will facilitate face-to-face interaction throughout the dynamic workplace within. A lantern at the north end of the building will signal a gathering space, adjacent to the building's fifth-floor training and conference facilities and opening to a large roof terrace. At night, both the stair and the lantern will glow, giving the building a strongly identifiable profile from across the river. A large-scale sign atop the building, a statement of corporate and civic pride in this important setting, will likewise be legible from across the river, its scale and frankly expressed scaffolding again recalling the site's industrial heritage.

Landscaped plazas will open at the building's north and south ends. Parking on an adjacent block will be largely screened behind a hotel and a neighboring office building.

The building, which will target LEED Platinum certification, will feature efficient water use, including greywater 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.