Matt Godfrey
Potluck 01: Fertile Ground, at Kensington’s Ice Box gallery, explores the work of some cutting-edge architectural firms taking advantage of Philly’s flawed canvas.
Architects finding 'Fertile Ground' in Philly flaws
It's been said that Fishtown and Northern Liberties are Philadelphia's new architectural playgrounds. The truth of this statement is amply demonstrated when you walk through these neighborhoods. Whether it's Liberties Walk, The Piazza at Schmidt's, or the latest eco-friendly infill town house where once there was a vacant lot, Fishtown, Northern Liberties and Kensington are racking up national reputations for a harmonious blend of old and new buildings.
Not only that, but new projects keep flying off the drawing boards of local architects, promising to keep the pace of change brisk.
Some talented offerings of the area's architectural renaissance are on display at the Crane Arts Building at 1400 N. American St. Potluck 01: Fertile Ground showcases the work of 12 local architectural design firms. The various displays feature both elaborate and simple building models of real and imagined projects, some small and some large-scale.
One exhibit features billboard-sized photographs of Northern Liberties infill green town houses. Viewers are struck by the cheap yet durable materials used in the construction of these projects, a testament to creative invention during the current recession.
The organizer of Fertile Ground, Brian Phillips, principal of Interface Studio Architects, said that the Ice Box exhibit - Philadelphia's largest art venue space, located at the north end of the Crane building - happened "very quickly."
"The owners of the Crane Building came to us a month and a half ago and said that the Ice Box would be available because the group that was going to exhibit pulled out," Phillips said. "Getting the space was an unusual opportunity. Obviously our firm alone couldn't fill it, so we thought it would be great if we could gather a whole bunch of offices together and do an exhibit which brings together academic research units and more traditional practices."
Phillips filled the space with architectural offices whose work he found interesting. The only other criteria for inclusion was geographical: All the firms had to be from Philadelphia. The exhibitors were also younger, emerging firms or firms with little local recognition - something that Phillips felt was important.
Another theme of the exhibit is what Phillips sees as a stark contrast between Philadelphia's rich architectural heritage and what he calls the city's 'liabilities."
"All of the liabilities that people perceive about Philadelphia - property problems, vacancy problems, and the city's regulatory environment - have actually evolved to the formation of creative offices that flourish," he said. "The work being done here demonstrates that, actually, that perception of Philadelphia - that it's got all of these issues that are troublesome - is actually an environment where creative people can thrive."
Phillips didn't ask the 12 firms for samples of what they would display, but said he went into the project on blind faith.
"It was all sort of by intuition," he said.
His own firm's 100 K House project is a testament to creative economy in a culture where money is tight. The challenge for his firm was to build an interesting, super efficient, affordable home project in Fishtown for $100,000. Although Interface Studio Architects is just 5 years old with five employees, Phillips said that, despite tough times, this is a good time to be "small."
"One third of architects are out of work. That's a pretty big number. It's a good time to be small because it's easier to go from seven to five people than it is from 200 on down."
The 12 firms with projects on display include Austin+Mergold, DIGSAU, Erdy McHenry Architecture, International Design Clinic, ISA Interface Studio Architects, Jibe Design, KBAS Studio, Moto Design Shop Inc. Normal Architecture Office, Onion Flats, Point B Design and Sabin+Jones LabStudio.
Of that group, Kensington's Onion Flats has, perhaps, the best national reputation; a feat earned through innovations such rooftop landscapes, eco-friendly buildings and affordable green housing. Onion Flats is seen as an undisputed leader in green building methodology because of its use of green roofs on 100 percent of its projects. The firm's gallery display is a series of large cardboard boxes stacked on top of one another. The boxes represent low-cost, prefabricated housing.
Another firm, Austin+Mergold, recently moved from central Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. With just two in-house architects, Alex Mergold and Jason Austin, A+M isn't afraid to utilize its "country roots." The firm's large display - a floor model of affordable housing built inside grain cans - is the first thing you see on entering the Ice Box.
Mergold said he was inspired to do the project when he and Austin were riding through central Pennsylvania and saw a heap of metal grain bins. "We realized that since every culture is going away, these things were being left behind," he said. "They are icons, though there are companies that still make them. They are fairly cheap and easy to erect, so we were thinking how could reuse them. So we started designing these houses that fit inside the grain bins."
They used cans of tuna fish to represent the canned houses for the imagined housing development. "Yes, it's sort of like a glorified can of tuna," Mergold observed. "There are old cans in high density development, six can-houses close together, individual can-houses, and then a landscaped park with a number of can-houses."
To get the cans for the model, the pair went to Wal-Mart and bought a hundred cans of tuna fish, which they intend to donate to a local food bank when the exhibition is concludes Oct. 25.
A+M's mission statement includes a reference to solving design problems and "new ways to rethink material applications." The rethinking process can sometimes mean making art. This summer the firm showcased vinyl siding as part of a "Think Global, Go Local" exhibit in Philadelphia's Pentimenti Gallery. Philadelphia Weekly art critic Roberta Fallon called A+M's piece "an architectural piece that bulges like a pregnant wall of a house," and "a weird and hulking beauty."
"We've done projects everywhere, from low- to mixed-income housing in central Pennsylvania, to London, England," Mergold said, "But we haven't done anything in Philadelphia yet."
That's likely to change.
"This exhibit is a fertile ground for making new relationships and forging new networks, which has to be a positive for the architectural community," Mergold said.¥¥
Finding Fertile Ground
Potluck 01: Fertile Ground will be on display at the Ice Box in the Crane Arts building, 1400 N. American St., to Oct. 25.
Gallery hours are Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
For more information, visit www.cranearts.com.¥¥
