Project Description
The owner of this commodities trading firm wanted an operations center identifiable with the culture of his native southeastern Pennsylvania. More than that, however, he also wanted a building to showcase the activities, technologies, and safety features upon which his business is founded. To accomplish these goals, Dever Architects undertook the adaptive reuse of a three-hundred-year-old mill.
All the building’s new features were developed to achieve a complete coordination of design and a distinctive unity of place. Three ruling ideas prevail: the rugged, industrial character of the original structure; the Adirondack influences it displayed from its 1920’s use as a country club; and the geometry of the building’s reconstructed, operating water wheel. The project’s most dramatic new feature is a ramp, comprising wood, glass and steel and descending through the wheel room’s main space. The many elements are brought into harmony through careful design and a color palette that unifies the entire building.
A winner of the 1997 Commerce Bank, Philadelphia Business Journal, Building Excellence Awards of the Delaware Valley, Best Suburban Construction.