As a testament to LF Driscoll’s continuing role in changing the skyline of Philadelphia, the Company built the Comcast Center, a 58-story, 975ft office tower in Center City.
project
Comcast Center
Comcast Center, developed by Liberty Property Trust, grosses 1.254 million rentable sf, 1.1 million sf of which is occupied by Comcast Corporation. The design by Robert A. M. Stern Architects includes restaurant and retail space; multi-story stacked atria rise on the south face of the building; a half acre landscaped park; new entrance to Suburban Station; expansion of Suburban Station underground retail concourse one block north of Arch Street; 500 seat concourse level dining court; 120 private space underground parking garage; new entrance lobby addition to the Arch Street Presbyterian Church.
The structure of the Comcast Center comprises a central concrete core with steel-framed floors. Utilizing a custom-unitized, high-performance non-reflective low-emissivity glass curtain wall skin for the entire exterior cladding, the Comcast Center includes a double-skin atrium curtain wall with active air control at the 100ft tall main lobby. The tower tapers inward towards the top and features two “cutouts” near the top of the building on the north and south sides. The Comcast Center contains a double-chambered, concrete, 300,000-gallon, liquid-tuned column damper to prevent swaying in the wind — the largest such damper in North America.
LF Driscoll also managed the complete fit-out of 52 floors, performed in seven phases. Comcast’s space is topped by a conference room floor with the executive offices on the four floors below it. On the 43rd and 44th floors is a two story cafeteria space for employees. Below the cafe is a corporate training center.
Installation Art
The Center’s Winter Garden entrance contains two works of installation art:
The Comcast Experience is a 25.4ft tall, 83.3 feet, 2,000sf high-definition LED screen situated on a wall in the Winter Garden. The screen is composed of 6,771 Barco NX-4 LED modules.
The second piece of art is Jonathon Borofsky’s Humanity in Motion, located in the glass atrium of the Winter Garden. Humanity in Motion shows life-size human figures walking across horizontal poles positioned at different levels of the atrium.
The space was designed to create an engaging experience that fosters chance encounters and visible and approachable leadership. By reducing the real estate footprint and providing tools such as Polycom video and telepresence, Accenture significantly reduced its carbon emissions while at the same time improving work/life balance for its employees through reduced travel.
COMPANY
Architect
Robert A.M Stern Architects
Client
Liberty Property Trust/Commerzbank
Location
1701 JFK Boulevard Philadelphia, PA
SF
1,254,000
Architect
Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Dates
September 2005 – February 2009
Awards
2008 Overall Project of the Year Mid-Atlantic Construction, 2008 National Award, Best of the Best-Office McGraw Hill, 2009 Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence, 2008 GBCA Excellence Award, LEED® Gold