Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Perched atop a parking garage in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood, Aqua Foro by DIGSAU redefines urban recreation and wellness, designed as a tranquil retreat for residents of the adjacent Piazza Alta development.
This elevated sanctuary blends contemporary architecture with ancient inspirations. Featuring minimalist pavilion structures, reflective water elements, and carefully curated lighting, Aqua Foro creates a dreamlike atmosphere where architecture and nature merge seamlessly.
For its conception, the project has been awarded a 2024 American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
This rooftop oasis transforms the urban landscape into a serene, light-filled escape, offering a unique experience of leisure and tranquility in the heart of the city.
The project is an unexpected garden that promotes healthy urban living and maximizes opportunities for outdoor activity and connection to the natural environment.
A celebration of water and wellness, the contemporary structures at Aqua Foro each have a conceptual and functional analogue with typologies typically found in an ancient forum.
Uncommonly slender pavilion structures provide shelter from the sun and rain.
Like an ornamental frieze, the precast concrete rooftop forms crown the utilitarian parking decks below and celebrate the craft of contemporary architectural precast concrete.
The smooth surfaces chart the sun’s path, which warms some surfaces, shades others, and projects animated shadows.
Water reflects rippled light onto these surfaces, and the garden plantings cast ornamental shadows and add seasonal color.
Unconventional transitions between water features make the experience of Aqua Foro less like a pool and more like swimming in architecture.
By subverting familiar forms and sensations of urban life, the space is something unexpected, calming, and cleansing.
Project: Aqua Foro
Architects: DIGSAU
Lead Architects: Jules Dingle and Jeff Goldstein
Design Team: Rolando Lopez, Domenica Massamby, and Samantha Ding
Lighting Designer: The Lighting Practice
General Contractor: Post Brothers Construction
Client: Post Brothers
Photographers: Halkin Mason Photography
