Corporate Ship Yard

Reuse, give back and turn out a badass place. Done. I'm referring to the Urban Outfitters Corporate Campus. Have you seen or heard about this place? It's four old historic buildings in Philadelphia's ship yard. My sister-in-law, Leslie used to work for Anthropologie (part of the U.O. family) and I remember her talking about the space with such passion. She wasn't kidding. If you've ever been in one of their stores (Urban or Anthro) you'll notice the similarities in vintage design and the refurbished finishes. They have a craft and style that carries all the way through from corporate to customer.

I feel like I've been talking about it all this week but I'm such a firm believer in creativity and adaptive reuse. This is a perfect example, just on a much larger scale. There's a cool connection between the two industries with similar characteristics. Both create, build, refurbish or fabricate whether it's a ship or article of clothing.

It looks raw in a way, yet it's so refined from the timbers to the exposed duct work. The mass of the facility and the amount of natural light really give a comforting atmosphere. I could go on and on. This place is amazing and so well done. Check out more photos on ArchDaily.

photos by Lara Swimmer via ArchDaily