Historic on the Outside
but Modern Inside
Designed by famed modernist architect Pietro Belluschi and completed in 1964, the Philadelphia headquarters of chemical manufacturer Rohm and Haas is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. As part of an effort to modernize the building Structure Tone renovated nine floors of office space; removing most of the existing enclosed offices and replacing them with open work stations for greater penetration of light into interior spaces. On the executive floor, two sound-sealed conference rooms were built and fit-out with the latest global video teleconferencing capabilities. In addition, 23 general conference rooms were constructed and electrical power capabilities were updated on all floors.
Structure Tone refurbished and updated the lobby, renovated the plaza deck and updated two bathrooms to comply with ADA accessibility requirements. All Rohm and Haas’s own products (glues, polymers, gypsum and synthetic sheeting) were used in construction.
Deconstruction
Adjacent to the lobby, our team oversaw the complete deconstruction of an old First Fidelity Bank to make way for the new employee "Haas Cafe." The bank deconstruction was a delicate operation that required the demounting and preservation of a 9' 6" x 2' 6" granite surface, which was re-used in the construction of the new lobby desk and saved for later use in the plaza area, as well as the deconstruction and removal of the 40-ton concrete and steel bank vault.
