{"id":412253,"date":"2026-01-17T04:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T04:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/412253\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T04:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T04:40:11","slug":"gensler-and-obj-reimagine-philadelphias-avenue-of-the-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/412253\/","title":{"rendered":"Gensler and OBJ reimagine Philadelphia\u2019s Avenue of the Arts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Avenue of the Arts, a 1-mile stretch of South Broad Street in Philadelphia<\/a>, is undergoing a major $150 million transformation by Gensler<\/a> and OJB<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ten blocks between Philadelphia City Hall and Washington Avenue will have new landscaped medians, enhanced lighting, outdoor performance spaces, rotating public art and sculptural elements, plantings, trees, street furniture, artist-designed banners, better wayfinding, and more as part of the program.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy prioritizing people, this transformation turns infrastructure into experience. It\u2019s a model for how cultural corridors can support climate resilience, economic vitality, and everyday life in a 21st-century city,\u201d Oliver Schaper, principal at Gensler and project lead, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\"\"New landscape medians will abound as part of the project. (Courtesy OJB)<\/p>\n

Construction broke ground this week on the project steered by a nonprofit organization, Avenue of the Arts, Inc. The goal is to transform this section of South Broad Street into a world-renowned cultural destination stocked with verdant green spaces.<\/p>\n

The initiative to transform South Broad Street was launched decades ago by former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell. It brought high-profile buildings like the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts by Rafael Vi\u00f1oly Architects, a new home for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Now, the effort to jumpstart the initiative is called AveArts 2.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Exterior realms outside the Kimmel Center, Dorrance Hamilton Hall (now part of the Village of Industry & Art), and other landmarks on South Broad Street will be revitalized thanks to AveArts 2.0.<\/p>\n

\"\"Street furniture and plantings will be installed. (Courtesy OJB)<\/p>\n

After Philadelphia\u2019s University of the Arts closed<\/a>\u00a0in 2024, its nine buildings went up for auction.\u00a0Scout<\/a>, a local development and design company,\u00a0acquired<\/a> two of the buildings: Dorrance Hamilton Hall and Furness Residence Hall, named after its architect, Frank Furness.<\/p>\n

Scout is transforming these buildings<\/a> that span the Avenue of the Arts into the Village of Industry & Art\u2014a new creative destination that will host AIA Philadelphia, BlackStar Projects, Community Design Collaborative, DesignPhiladelphia, Monument Lab, the Stained Glass Project, and other groups.<\/p>\n

Outside Dorrance Hamilton Hall, a new plaza for concerts, performances, and leisure will abound. The median outside the Kimmel Center will have new plantings and public art.<\/p>\n

\"\"Alterations will be made outside the Kimmel Center. (Courtesy OJB)<\/p>\n

The project by Gensler and OJB will take place over the next decade in two phases.<\/p>\n

On January 30, work will begin outside the Kimmel Center on the block between Spruce and Pine Streets. This will bring new lighting, a rainwater collection cistern, and a raised, landscaped median speckled with native trees and plantings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat begins here between Spruce and Pine Streets is the first visible chapter of a reimagined Avenue of the Arts,\u201d Schaper told AN, \u201cwhere lush planting beds, shade trees, sculptural canopy structures, integrated seating, curated lighting, and public art transform the street into a garden-like promenade that elevates the pedestrian experience and brings arts and culture into everyday life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Avenue of the Arts, a 1-mile stretch of South Broad Street in Philadelphia, is undergoing a major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[228,226,227,229,88],"class_list":{"0":"post-412253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-design","12":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}