Partners Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake have announced their purchase of the Henry F. Ortlieb Company Bottling House in Philadelphia's dynamic Northern Liberties neighborhood. KieranTimberlake will renovate the Bottling House beginning in 2013, and relocate their current studio in the Art Museum neighborhood to the new space at the corner of North American and Poplar Streets by early 2014. 
 
Built in 1948, the two-story, approximately 60,000-square foot building is part of the campus of buildings developed by the Ortlieb Company beginning in 1869 through the 1940s, during its reign as one of the most important brewers in Philadelphia.

The bottling house building will accommodate our growing workforce of more than 90 professionals in an open loft plan on the second floor, with ample workshop space on the ground floor for the firm's research activities. In keeping with KieranTimberlake's sustainable design ethic, the retrofit will include fundamental improvements to the existing building envelope and the incorporation of daylighting and passive mechanical systems. 
 
We are delighted by the opportunity to contribute to the further growth of the Northern Liberties neighborhood, and to give vibrant new life to the building designed by the architect Richard Koelle of William F. Koelle & Co., a 1938 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who studied under Paul Cret. The purchase was made possible by financing from Beneficial Bank, with additional support from the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. 
 
Learn more in Natalie Kostelni's recent article in the Philadelphia Business Journal, “A building from the old Ortlieb's brewery gets reborn.”