August 30, 2023

New Park at Penn's Landing Breaks Ground

View of the Park at Penn's Landing at dusk with the pavilion and café at its center. 
© Hargreaves Jones and KieranTimberlake

The new Park at Penn's Landing is scheduled to break ground on September 6. The 11.5-acre park will reconnect Philadelphia to the Delaware River, guiding pedestrians from city sidewalks to a new public landscape, amenities, and attractions that bridges over I-95. 
 
KieranTimberlake's scope of work includes the architectural design of the central pavilion which will house and support park amenities, including a café, skate rentals and support for the adjacent ice rink/summer plaza, and office space for the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) park operations team. It is projected to be Philadelphia's first mass timber and zero carbon structure for public use.

The structures are joined together by a covered open-air breezeway, creating additional programmable space with immediate adjacency to both the pavilion and café. 
© KieranTimberlake

The pavilion will provide a welcoming gateway to the waterfront and an iconic destination within the park. In addition to the fixed programs within the pavilion, the design will accommodate flexible special events and functions of varied scales and activity. The café will serve as both a public-facing amenity and a landmark connection to the park and waterfront. 
 
The DRWC's ambitious sustainability goals have enabled KieranTimberlake to pursue a high-performance building design with a target goal of net zero energy consumption and net zero carbon. To support these sustainability goals, the project is targeting to meet both the LEED Platinum certification and Zero Carbon Certification through the International Living Future Institute.

The breezeway roof rises dramatically at the center, creating an iconic vaulted gateway that will make the structure visible and welcoming from surrounding areas. 
© KieranTimberlake

Preliminary construction began in March. The project was designed in collaboration with Hargreaves Jones, the DRWC, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).

The café will serve as both a public-facing amenity and a landmark connection to the park and waterfront. 
© KieranTimberlake