Occupying a nine-acre parcel in a decommissioned section of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, this publicly accessible corporate campus with industrial-scale, nineteenth century brick buildings is centered around a battleship-sized dry dock at the civic axis of Broad Street and the Delaware River. Starting with the vernacular landscape of maritime industry as the inspiration, the project by landscape architect Julie Bargmann of D.I.R.T. Studio rejected the “hog and haul” method typical of urban adaptive reuse projects and became a model for the artistic and ecologically-sound regeneration of materials, including recycled concrete chunks dubbed “Barney and Betty Rubble” by Bargmann, as well as brick, unearthed rail tracks, and site-specific site furnishings and objects that were part of the site’s industrial and maritime history.
Working closely with Urban Outfitters CEO Dick Haynes and architect Garth Rockcastle of MSR Design, Bargmann developed a salvaging strategy that obviated the need for imported materials and avoided exporting nearly a thousand cubic yards of waste to landfills. Miles of buried railroad tracks were unearthed and informed the alignment and location for gracefully arabesque pedestrian pathways bordered by raised concrete beds edged with coreten steel and planted with ornamental grasses and deciduous trees. Scattered clusters of shrubs and locust trees soften hardscaped courtyards among the brick buildings. A grove of cherry trees offers a seasonal show of colorful pink blossoms to the adjacent windowed offices, abutting a popular lawn that doubles as an open play space for employees and their dogs.
