GlaxoSmithKline has opened its double LEED Platinum offices in Philadelphia, designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects. Part of a brownfield redevelopment within the Navy Yard Corporate Center alongside Crescent Park at the confluence of the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers, the new 208,000-square-foot office building is the first in Philadelphia to earn double Platinum; it was certified in both the Core & Shell and Commercial Interiors categories. Daylight streams in through a four-story atrium, allowing natural light to reach 75 percent of the interior spaces, all of which feature low-VOC finishes; energy-efficient lighting, including LEDs, illuminates the balance. Working environments were designed by Francis Cauffman through empirical testing to encourage healthy habits, with desks that adjust from sitting to standing positions to reduce static behavior, although chair massages are available to those who insist upon remaining sedentary. The facilities also include a fitness center and health clinic, as well as a rooftop garden—which provides thermal insulation and retains storm water, while supplying herbs and vegetables to the office cafeteria—that offers views to South Philadelphia.
For more details and images of Five Crescent Drive at the Navy Yard, visit ARCHITECT's Project Gallery.
GlaxoSmithKline released video footage of the new offices:
