Ray Philly by Leong Leong

Located within Philadelphia’s resurgent South Kensington neighbourhood along the North American Street creative corridor is Ray Philly – a mixed-use development designed by New York-based firm Leong Leong. Featuring 110 apartments, six artist studios and public spaces for art-related programming, the project aims to bring artto the forefront of its residents’ lives and into the wider neighbourhood.

Ray Philly is the inaugural project for Ray, a development company rooted in art and hospitality founded by Dasha Zhukova (the entrepreneur and investor behind Garage Museum of Contemporary Art and Garage magazine). Sitting at the intersection of the Fishtown and Northern Liberties districts, it responds to the locality’s move towards increased densification and amenity, and serves as a prototype for future projects, namely Ray Harlem in New York slated for 2025.

“We were thinking a lot about the architectural character of Philly and how to recontextualise what was a typical five-over-one construction system,” says Dominic.

Architect brothers Dominic and Chris Leong are behind the design, which takes cues from the area’s industrial past and creatively charged future in massing and materiality. Existing planning approvals across the site meant the blocky and linear form was largely pre-determined; however, Leong Leong reinterpreted these constraints to produce a piece of architecture that is conceptually sharp and aesthetically resolved. “We were thinking a lot about the architectural character of Philly and how to recontextualise what was a typical five-over-one construction system,” says Dominic.

Draped in a deep shade of terracotta and clad almost entirely in a custom brick developed in collaboration with Glen-Gery inspired by Herzog & de Meuron’s Schaudepot building at the Vitra Campus in Germany, the building’s uniformity makes a strong statement. Each ultra-saturated red brick has been split in half lengthwise and flipped inside out so the textural core is visible, creating movement and visual interest across the facade. This material speaks directly to the locale’s historic brick masonry vernacular – specifically, the early 20th-centuryCrane Arts building down the street – as well as to Leong Leong’s ongoing interest in the unexpected application of materials. “We wanted to amplify the form, and applying the brick gives it a sense of texture and craft, as well as a certain elegance and simplicity,” says Dominic.

“An important component was exploring how the building relates to the sidewalk and to the scale of the neighbourhood, which was an opportunity to fulfil Ray’s mission of making art more accessible to everyday life,” says Dominic.

Activating the streetscape was also integral to Leong Leong’s response, and the diversity seen at street level plays a heavy hand in achieving this. “An important component was exploring how the building relates to the sidewalk and to the scale of the neighbourhood, which was an opportunity to fulfil Ray’s mission of making art more accessible to everyday life,” says Dominic. The ground floor is occupied by artists’ studios with roll-up glass garage doors that open directly onto North American Street, encouraging engagement from passers-by, as well as the art-filled lobby and Studio 105, an event and exhibition space. “That was a very intentional approach – to create this band of street front that really communicated the project’s intent of supporting the creative community,” he says.

Ray Philly’s art-forward program emerges throughout – there’s a site-specific sculpture by artist Rashid Johnson in the lobby, with a library curated by beloved neighbourhood bookshop, Ulises, and the “exterior intervention” by local artist Michelle Lopez emblazoned across the top of the building’s western elevation that reads ‘When Under One Sky’.

Activating the streetscape was also integral to Leong Leong’s response, and the diversity seen at street level plays a heavy hand in achieving this.

There’s less artistic intervention within the apartments themselves (the complex includes 25 studios, 67 one-bedrooms and18 two-bedrooms), but, design-wise, they carry the same industrial language seen on the exterior, with minimal, warm and unfussy palettes and large picture windows.

These gestures culminate in what is conceivably a strong start for this culture-conscious development company. Whether this project can truthfully support the artistic community and elevate the presence of art within its locale remains to be seen, but if Ray’s parallel objective is delivering built forms that resonate with their contexts and demographics, then Ray Philly stacks up remarkably well.

Architecture by Leong Leong and HDO Architecture. Interior design by Leong Leong. Build by The HOW Group. Artwork by Rashid Johnson, Marian Bailey and Michelle Lopez.