Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Atkin Olshin Schade Architects and Studio Sustena have collaborated closely with Philadelphia Contemporary to create a permanent home for the organization, a 15,000-square-foot, two-story gallery building with outdoor terraces that will support also the local artistic community.
The Floating Gallery will be periodically unmoored and tugged to different sites along the East Coast, bringing attention to each location’s unique history, ecology, and potential.
The building design reflects Philadelphia Contemporary’s commitment to the site, the environment, and the community.
In addition to providing a space for local artists to share their work, the Floating Gallery’s direct access to the river will allow Philadelphia Contemporary to use the water as a medium and platform for artistic projects.
Artists, scientists, and thinkers will be able to creatively engage with the waters of the Delaware River in their projects and public programs.
This will provide audiences with opportunities to learn about the ways in which their lives are connected with the river and to act in the best interest of all our futures.
The floating gallery is designed to be sustainable and resilient, both environmentally and economically.
The gallery will be a self-powered, net-zero structure, thanks to its canopy of solar panels and thoughtfully engineered active and passive systems, making it one of the greenest cultural facilities in existence.
As a floating barge, the gallery will be resilient, with the ability to avoid being flooded by riding out extreme weather events.
Project: Philadelphia Contemporary Floating Gallery
Architects: AOS Atkin Olshin Schade Architects
Landscape Architects: Studio Sustena
Client: Philadelphia Contemporary
Photographs: Courtesy of the Architects