MATTHEW J. LUSK, RA, NCARB​

This integrated, 30-week urban site analysis & proposal exercise increases the mixed-use program capacity of Philadelphia's Market East neighborhood, to accommodate Amazon's rumored HQ2 establishment in an urban scene. By investigating the urban fabric at a large scale, what becomes evident are the broad contextual influences and systems of infrastructure that support the 'urban ecosystem' which defines a district. Using Kevin Lynch's "Image of the City" as a framework for site analysis, an informed study of the public realm revealed levels of information at multiple scales, which were then distilled & re-inserted into a 9-acre urban master plan proposal which envisions nearly 4.5mil SF of new, mixed-use space.

 

In an effort to accommodate over 50,000 new employees, our design team expanded the existing transportation framework and anticipate new typologies in the commercial, residential, healthcare, institutional, civic, and recreational realms. Upon further analysis, each group member became responsible for developing a parcel within the proposed group master plan - the above being a 200,000+SF mixed-use hotel. More than simply a necessary addition to the district, this typology facilitates the connection between two major entities on site - Amazon as a commercial contributor and Thomas Jefferson University as a major player in the realm of health sciences and higher education.

 

Responding to the scalar relationships of its immediate local conditions, this 16-story structure offers 184 guestrooms above a mixed-use podium structure, featuring restaurant & retail space, a corporate work-share program, and indoor/outdoor recreational space for both public events and hotel guests. A terracotta rainscreen skin system mitigates solar and moisture impacts while introducing design elements near grade to visually connect to the human scale as part of the public realm proposal.