PHILADELPHIA — U.S.-based design firm Practice for Architecture and Urbanism and real estate company Brandywine Realty Trust have unveiled designs for a pair of towers in University City in West Philadelphia as part of the Schuylkill Yards development project.<br /><br />The project is aimed at transforming around seven million square feet of space into a neighborhood with residential and commercial buildings.<br /><br />The towers are jointly called the JFK Towers, with one of the buildings being referred to as the East Tower and the other the West Tower. <br /><br />The East Tower will be around 512 feet tall and consist of shifted building blocks with a red facade stacked on top of one another, according to a Practice for Architecture and Urbanism news release. <br /><br />The East Tower is aiming to achieve LEED Silver certification in which a project must earn 50 to 59 points on a sustainability checklist by the U.S. Green Building Council in order to be certified. <br /><br />The architectural firm did not detail which eco-friendly features the tower would include.<br /><br />The West Tower will be around 360 feet tall and consists of a rectangular building on top of a wider building. Its exterior will make use of neutral colors such as gray.<br /><br />The towers will offer retail, office and residential spaces.<br /><br />The JFK towers will be connected by the High Line Plaza, an open space on the ground floor where the public can gather for social activities.<br /><br />The architectural firm says the designers took inspiration from the city's old railcars and distinct red sandstone when designing the project.<br /><br />Construction on the towers is to begin in 2020.
