The Philadelphia School, deterritorialized 4028
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1996.04.06
scale and architecture
...the John Wanamaker Store and the PSFS Building. Both buildings are in Center City Philadelphia, and both are fair representations of their respective building types. The most obvious difference between the scale of each building is the fact that one is horizontal with a very large footprint and the other is vertical with a very small footprint. Both buildings, however, employ a special scale where they meet the street and the pedestrian vantage point.
The PSFS Building brings with it a whole new set of scale issues. The building design with its many masterful articulations of the base and the tower speak of new use of design with regard to office towers. The base relates to the street level (while the tower also speaks of a novel way to architecturally express large vertical elements in a scale that is complementary. The PSFS Building is a truly modern skyscraper. ...compare it with Philadelphia City Hall and the other skyscrapers (i.e., the worlds tallest buildings).
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1996.04.06
scale and architecture
The stacked tower [of Capital park West] employs discernible cantilevers and overlarge windows in simple primary shapes. The cantilevers are definitely reminiscent of the PSFS building and the large (window) openings are similar in scale with the PSFS sign.
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2004.04.19 13:48
branding and architecture
The Philadelphia Savings Fund Society skyscraper (1929-32, now a hotel) has an iconic PSFS sign on the roof. The design of this sign, which is lit at night, has two faces, one facing the city and west, and the other slightly angled facing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, the enteric to Philadelphia from New Jersey. The other signage/branding on the building was also carefully designed as part of the architecture.
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