Following its pyramid-shaped high-rise Via 57 West, BIG is making waves in the United States again with its latest completed project in the country. 1200 Intrepid Avenue features a facade that curves like the bow of a ship and has a periscope integrated into its lobby.
The four-story 92,000 sq ft (8,547 sq m) 1200 Intrepid Avenue is located in the Navy Yard Corporate Center, a development in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, which long served as one of America's most significant shipyards.
The building's bright white facade is formed from precast concrete panels, stacked in a basket-weave pattern. Three sides of the building are completely straight, but the fourth curves dramatically and tilts outwards as it rises, visually referencing both the bow of a ship and a nearby circular park and circular running paths.
References to the site's maritime history continue inside. The light-filled elevator lobby works like a huge periscope. BIG installed angled mirrors on the roof so that people can simply look upwards and check out the view of the ships docked in the water nearby.
1200 Intrepid Avenue received LEED Gold certification (a green building standard), with BIG saying that the density of its precast concrete panels improves energy efficiency and that the building was partly constructed with recycled materials. In addition, material waste during construction was minimal.
The project is one of several that the Danish firm has unveiled for the US recently, including the aforementioned Via 57, the 40th Precinct Station, Coconut Grove, the Spiral, and the now-shelved Two World Trade Center.
Source: BIG
