Iconic Belluschi Structure Receives Landmark Status—and a Renovation

by Heather Livingston
Contributing Editor

Summary: Pietro Belluschi created the landmark Rohm and Haas building on the corner of Market Street and South Independence Mall West in downtown Philadelphia between 1963 and 1965. The building was conceived as one of the first steps in legendary Philadelphia City Planner Edmund Bacon’s plan to revive Independence Mall. According to legend, when Bacon approached owner Otto Haas about moving his growing company there, Haas is reported to have said: “This city may or may not survive. But if companies like Rohm and Haas desert it, then surely the city will not survive!” Rohm and Haas hired Belluschi, then dean of the school of architecture at MIT, to create its new headquarters in the International Style.

Now approaching 50 years old, Belluschi’s building reached a critical juncture a few years ago when Rohm and Haas needed to expand and redefine its space. Between the steady growth of the company and the trend to open work environments, Rohm and Haas found that their headquarters building was no longer meeting their needs. Dedicated to remaining in Philadelphia, the company looked into moving its headquarters to other nearby locations, but ultimately decided that its personal connection with the building and the favorably sized floorplate (40,500 square feet) were good enough reasons to renovate rather than relocate.

In the spirit of Modernism
In 1963, Belluschi partnered with the George M. Ewing Company to create for their client a nine-floor, 300,000-square-foot concrete structure with sunscreens and spandrel panels. In the character and spirit of Modern architecture, Belluschi incorporated into Rohm and Haas many of the company’s innovative materials. One example is the building’s distinctive sunscreens that were made from Plexiglas® Acrylic, Rohm and Haas’s best-known product. RMJM Hillier’s Jim Garrison, AIA, notes that Plexiglas was used in varied inventive ways throughout the building, including light fixtures, in the board room, and in some artistic commissions.

The original renovation plan, as conceived by RMJM Hillier, included a new blue glass diagrid façade, an open floor plan, and interconnecting floors. While the design was met with enthusiasm, the plan exceeded the budget, says principal in charge Brad Lambertsen, AIA. But, the budget limitations sparked a new idea. Although still shy of its semicentennial, RMJM Hillier took the lead in having the Rohm and Haas building designated a National Historic Landmark, a step that both preserves the historic character of the building and grants funds for renovation.

As the lead on the historic designation team, Garrison says that early in the project, they let the owners know there was a program administered by the National Park Service where they could get tax credits for certified rehabilitation of their building. “At first, it seemed like a stretch,” he explains, “but in looking at it we felt that there were good grounds to have the building historically certified … Typically, the building has to be 50 years or more to even be considered, but because this was such a special building in the city and a fairly significant building from the standpoint of the Modern movement, we started making some calls and found out that there was real interest from the state of Pennsylvania and from the Park Service.”

Preserving an icon
The effort to designate the building as a National Historic Landmark led RMJM Hillier and their client to focus renovations on opening up floor space and modernizing the systems. True to the original design and the precepts of Modernism, Lambertsen says: “During the project we paid special attention to the products that they would have manufactured that are incorporated in the building products … They are a coatings manufacturer, so all the paints that were used, all the glues, all the polymers for tile setting, gypsum, synthetic gypsum sheeting, and any number of additives for ceiling tiles” were Rohm and Haas.

Lambertsen estimates that they removed 80 percent of the enclosed offices and replaced them with open workstations and new, upgraded furnishings. The new floor plan allows for greater penetration of light into interior spaces and, Rohm and Haas hopes, will boost employee productivity and creativity. The security systems, telecommunications, audio-visual, and central plant systems also were modernized. In addition, a new servery and dining area are being inserted into a space that was previously occupied by a bank but had been empty for a number of years. As for Belluschi’s iconic façade, it received a thorough cleaning but otherwise remains as it was. Lambertsen estimates that the interior renovation will be complete by Memorial Day, with waterproofing and a refurbishment of the brick plaza completed later this year.

Lambertsen says that what he most appreciates about Belluschi’s design is its purely rational configuration. “It’s predictable in a sense, but you’ve got a 30-foot module. You’ve got a five-foot planning grid. You’ve got all the systems working on that whether it’s the ceiling system or the underfloor technical distribution. It’s just a very well done rational office building.”