Center City District Headquarters

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Client Center City District

Location Philadelphia, PA

Scope 26,500 SF

Center City District is Philadelphia’s premier business improvement district with the mission of making Center City cleaner and safer.

This non-profit organization performs daily services like street cleaning, public safety, and homeless outreach, in addition to maintaining four parks in the area. To better execute its mission, CCD is moving its headquarters to the historic Land Title Building next to City Hall and CCD’s own Dilworth Park. We are thrilled to be part of their mission, not just through their new office’s architecture and interior design, but also through devising new workplace strategies that embody the culture CCD is striving to create.

Site Selection

CCD’s existing office space located in Old City posed a challenge for the organization. The most pronounced problem is that the location itself was too far from the streets and parks the organization maintains.

For their new headquarters we assisted in the site selection process, ultimately settling on a first floor space in Center City’s Land Title Building. This historic space is the oldest office building in Philadelphia, located a block away from City Hall and CCD’s flagship Dilworth Park. Its beautiful double height windows will also greatly enhance CCD’s street presence and brand recognition. The building is quintessentially Philadelphian and reflective of the city’s rich and diverse architectural history. While there were other spaces we examined and performed test-fits on, all of the factors above made the Land Title Building the perfect choice.

exterior photo of the Land Title Building, pedestrians and cyclists cross the busy street

Located at 100 South Broad Street, The Land Title Building was originally designed by famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, who also designed the Wanamaker's Department Store on Market Street.

Programming

CCD had last looked at its workplace strategy more than a decade ago. We took this opportunity to work with them extensively to identify efficiencies to incorporate into this new space. After learning about the ways they work, we walked them through strategies to find the right balance of how their employees worked and what they needed – workstations, offices, and amenity spaces that would better address the growing needs of their organization. The space had to be both enticing to the public and a way to show employees their importance without the traditional hierarchy of the enclosed office structure and no collaboration spaces.

graphic diagram showcasing each department and the necessary connections between them

Challenges

CCD has many departments. From Philadelphia Police department employees, to community service representatives, marketing, finance… each has wildly different needs and ways of working. In their old office, CCD’s departments were too separated from one another. They had no communal spaces to gather, whether to collaborate on a project or simply to chat. The main challenge of this project was bringing together each department’s unique needs in one program, while also finding ways to foster social interaction in a culture that was traditionally separated.

communal kitchen rendering filled with people

One such solution is CCD's new communal kitchen - located along a major thoroughfare in the office, right at the top of the mezzanine stairs.

Spaces for “We” and Spaces for “Me”

In pursuit of this goal, the final design of CCD’s office resembles more a co-working space. With many different styles of seating, informal and flexible work spaces, and unique amenities, we sought to provide opportunities for employees to have impromptu social encounters with one another throughout the day. Departments are organized into separate “neighborhoods” throughout the office that each fulfill their requirements, while community spaces and lounges fill the gaps between them. While the office is primarily an open floor plan, private offices and Zoom rooms are included to give employees who prefer a quiet working environment a place to work comfortably. Other notable amenities include a bike room, locker room, and spaces for hosting large events.

rendering of the vestibule, which opens into 2 spaces - the Center City District's office or the Philadelphia Police station

It was critically important for CCD's police employees to have immediate access to the street, so we included an entrance vestibule that opens into their neighborhood as well as the reception area.

The wall above the ground floor office space will feature a mural by local artist Miriam Singer.

Color, Light, and Art

Our design reflects CCD’s brand and mission through the creative use of colors and textures, as well as nods to the urban streetscape CCD works so hard to maintain. Their signature teal, most recognizable from their employee’s jackets, features prominently in the design. The main distinguishing attributes of the space are its massive mezzanine and double height ceilings and windows, which allowed plenty of opportunities for natural light and spaces for murals. Local Philadelphia artists will design two murals for the office, one behind the reception desk, and the other on the wall overlooking the ground floor neighborhoods. We also designed a custom hanging light fixture in the shape of CCD’s logo, which we hope to build in a future phase.