An aging 1970s office building may not immediately spark visions of a modern innovation hub, but Brandywine Realty Trust recognized this potential in 500 North Gulph Road. The building faced a challenge familiar to developers of much of America’s existing building stock: how to attract top tenants while planning for upgrades that make economic sense. While the cast-in-place structure had strong bones, it lacked an architectural presence and access to natural daylight, common areas, and the amenities associated with modern workplace environments.

ZGF’s adaptive reuse design, which included upgrades to exterior cladding and glazing; interior renovation; site enhancements; and upgrades to all building systems, retains the building’s late modernist characteristics while creating a contemporary workplace. The original structure’s tall floor-to-floor heights and sturdy structural anatomy provide a robust and striking environment, allowing more flexibility and a creative use of space.

The design team introduced a series of stacked boxes that play on the design composition of the original building with its centered symmetrical entrance. The boxes establish a strong architectural identity for this previously anonymous building while enhancing its function for tenants. The new architectural insertions, which house the amenity spaces, enhance circulation, integrate mechanical systems, and encourage social gathering, draw from the existing structure, setting themselves apart through form and variations on materials.