The Bulletin Building

Philadelphia, PA

KieranTimberlake | 2021 | 265,000 SF

The Bulletin Building was designed by George Howe in 1953 and served as the headquarters for the daily evening newspaper The Philadelphia Bulletin until its closure in 1982. Several decades and many tenants later, the building now sits at the heart of the growing Schuylkill Yards development and overlooks the newly constructed Drexel Square.

KieranTimberlake worked closely with Brandywine Realty Trust to design an iconic East facade replacement that establishes a district identity, revitalizes the building with a nod to its history, and brings daylight to the gene therapy research facilities within. The team collaborated with contractors and fabricators to deliver a unitized curtain wall with a bespoke shading frame, retail storefronts at the ground floor, and a freestanding 12' tall stainless steel district sign atop the roof.

Facade Design

The ceramic frit, in a randomized letter pattern generated by Grasshopper scripts, both mitigates solar heat gain and hints at the Bulletin Building's history.
The frame's "Galaxy Red" powder coating incorporates a glass flake finish adapted from automotive coatings. KieranTimberlake worked closely with metal coating specialists to achieve a custom formula that would meet AAMA 2605 standards.
The scrolling LED screen is inspired by the news ticker on the original Bulletin Building facade.

My Role

My work on this project spanned from Concept to Construction Administration and included design studies, model development, rendering, consultant coordination, documentation, collaboration with fabricators, and weekly site visits in construction.

I presented KieranTimberlake's design process as part of a panel at AIA Philadelphia's "Facade+Fabrication" event on October 29, 2020.