Metro Impact

[metroimpact]

To those of you that constantly complain about Metro's architecture. Can you please give me some examples of new construction architecture that you do like in Graduate Hospital?

P.S. We take well to constructive criticism, and find it necessary to improve our product. Thank you!

[PBResident]

To those of you that constantly complain about Metro's architecture. Can you please give me some examples of new construction architecture that you do like in Graduate Hospital?

P.S. We take well to constructive criticism, and find it necessary to improve our product. Thank you!

[PBResident]

[EJW]

I cringe every time I go past those things

[Mustard]

All kidding aside. If you want to get a good design hire the a great designer. Crowd sourcing isn't the way to go. Philly has a wealth of talented firms that are reasonable.

Heck you don't even have to leave the neighborhood!

Campbell Thomas Architects CT&C
Carpenter Square
www.qb3design.com

[mixiboi]

Apologies for my quick response. I thought your comment "Is there a donation for you to hire an architect" referred to the Catherine St. Park.

Ben

Yeah the OP didn't make that clear, but once I checked out the Facebook pages, it was made clear what the OP was talking about

To those of you that constantly complain about Metro's architecture. Can you please give me some examples of new construction architecture that you do like in Graduate Hospital?

P.S. We take well to constructive criticism, and find it necessary to improve our product. Thank you!

Criticism is criticism, you just gotta roll with the punches. But if no one buys the places...then you gotta start to worry....


I love this



And these are great(Tho I wonder why the last house steps are different):




But this is a monster in sheep clothing:

[Lolly]

I spy 3 electric meters on that house.

Tsk tsk tsk.

I thought the same thing when 3 meters appeared on the supposed 2-unit currently under construction next door to me. But apparently it's the new code to have a separate meter for common areas. So 2-unit condo = 3 meters.

[Lolly]

Personally, I totally prefer this:

Over this:

However I give Metro credit for making the cornice here + in all fairness this is not a stucco bay.

[ArcticSplash]

That building is just insane. 3 units I presume?

If it's a 1 unit monster then it would have made more sense to just have one big long garage door, instead of 3 doors with of course... all 3 will have LEW BLUM signs pasted to them... like every garagefront owner gets after they get through their first kerfuffle with someone blocking the door.

[Gladys]

That building is just insane. 3 units I presume?

If it's a 1 unit monster then it would have made more sense to just have one big long garage door, instead of 3 doors with of course... all 3 will have LEW BLUM signs pasted to them... like every garagefront owner gets after they get through their first kerfuffle with someone blocking the door.

My favorite garage front signage is on... is it panama street ....where it's in every language imaginable? I'm sure someone knows.

[Jayfar]

My favorite garage front signage is on... is it panama street ....where it's in every language imaginable? I'm sure someone knows.

Middle of the 1700 block of Delancey, across and up a little ways from the Plays & Players Theater. Streetview:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=17th+...331.23,,1,3.25

[metroimpact]

That building is just insane. 3 units I presume?

If it's a 1 unit monster then it would have made more sense to just have one big long garage door, instead of 3 doors with of course... all 3 will have LEW BLUM signs pasted to them... like every garagefront owner gets after they get through their first kerfuffle with someone blocking the door.

It is a 3-unit on a huge lot. A single-family (even w/ garage) is a tough sell on that block. It's a big improvement from what once stood there....

[Gladys]

Middle of the 1700 block of Delancey, across and up a little ways from the Plays & Players Theater. Streetview:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=17th+...331.23,,1,3.25

thanks! that's a really old shot it's totally covered by now!

[Brian616]

Criticism is criticism, you just gotta roll with the punches. But if no one buys the places...then you gotta start to worry....

And these are great(Tho I wonder why the last house steps are different):

I love these, too. IIRC, they were built when no one was sure what the rule on bays was. These also seemed sell very quickly.

Steve is a young guy, learning and improving like all of us are at our jobs.

[Gaillimh]

Metro also did a great job matching the original cornices, windows and arched doorways on the 1910-1912 Christian Street homes. Those homes not only are excellent replicas of the original 19th century designs, but also clearly served as the example followed by Roman when he designed the new house at the corner of 18th & Christian, which I think is the best example of new construction in the neighborhood.

Overall, it is just not fair to ignore how much Steve has attempted to change his designs in order to address the concerns of the neighborhood. As someone who has seen every application made over the last two years, his designs have improved tremendously and I cannot think of when he last proposed a basic 'stucco bay.' Steve has also probably planted more trees than any other developer, as well as been very generous in donating to neighborhood causes like the Big Belly campaign.

In my opinion, the neighborhood only disincentives developers to make accommodations and 'do the right thing' when people completely ignore the facts of what has been done in order to imagine a pretext to champion a personal agenda.

Steve is not perfect and mega-triplexs are crap, but lets be fair.

[Lolly]

Middle of the 1700 block of Delancey, across and up a little ways from the Plays & Players Theater. Streetview:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=17th+...331.23,,1,3.25

I *love* this! (So much that I had to capture it for posterity.)


That said, I really wish folks knew they really don't need those awful Lew Blum etc. signs. I refuse to put one on our garage door. We only had a problem once in 6 years with someone parking (for more than a few minutes) where we needed to get out so had the car towed. To do so, whether or not you have a sign posted, first you need to have the car ticketed by the police. Then, just call any tow company and they can take it.

ETA: Speaking of good garage design, what ultimately got developed here at 20th & Delancy has got to be one of the best examples I've ever seen.

[Jayfar]

I *love* this! (So much that I had to capture it for posterity.)

Someone grabbed that shot and sent it in to Curbed as well:

Center City Linguist Puts Melting Pot on Notice - Reader Submissions - Curbed Philly

[metroimpact]

I'm glad that some have taken notice of the improvements in our architecture over the years. We've stopped using dryvit (stucco) for bay windows years ago, as this was a common request at the SOSNA meetings. We've also been trying to match our elevations (cornice line) with adjacent structures, as this too, was a common request. We always try to hide utilities, but unfortunately PECO & PGW is now requiring the meters to be on the exterior.

I don't foresee the garages at 2549 Grays Ferry Ave. sporting Lew Blum signs, because there is no parking on that side of the street.

I completely agree that the new project on the northwest corner of 18th/chris (1801 Christian?) is one of the nicest examples of new construction, as it blends in with its surrounding, without loosing the new construction look.

Can anyone point out another Good Example of New Construction in our neighborhood???

P.S. METRO IMPACT is still offering a $5 Donation for each new 'LIKE' that we receive on our Facebook Page. HELPING A GOOD CAUSE IS JUST A CLICK AWAY!!! So far, we've received over 60 new "Likes", which means $300+ goes towards improvements on our newest Green Space. We're hoping for 200+ New Likes, so that we can donate over $1,000. TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!

[Lolly]

Can anyone point out another Good Example of New Construction in our neighborhood???

I think what Roman built to replace this former church on the 2200 block of Carpenter Street was very well done, and completely sensitive to the surrounding context of the block.

[cubanChris]

I'm sure this has been asked in the past, so I apologize in advance if this is a rehabs or a sensitive topic but...

Has Metro ever considered including commercial in any of its developments? Or does the fact that most are for sale rather than for rent make that less feasible?

It seems the groundswell for commercial in the neighborhood is only building.