The Next HOW A COUPLE GUYS FROM HAVERTOWN ARE SHAKING UP THE CITY'S ARCHITECTURAL ¢ Vi STrVse Aol le ae oC Eee nee nics Pn ere Sonne Pee etn ety caer Peer eee od eee tees tens ene and vertically steaight. In Seon Pee eee et eo Pe era! Pre ereren CL Pre Pree era! Pe enn that are scautered aroundlivasup tothe hype with light flooded intron spaces Aespite its weight acm, the office reveal projects that are conten: porary in the extreme, Boxy bays bulge from exterior walls, opening up interiors for double- and triple-hzight living rooms, Entire slabs of city rowhomes are clad in glass and fronted with shared courtyards Roofs an reed with solar pandls and ‘grass. Project by project, McDonald and Steinberg are constructing & new veenacu lar for city living, and liens are respond. ing. Those who approach Plambob don't need to he talked into progressive design Ii’s what they've come for. “There's great dialogue that’s established,” says MeDorald, “because they already under: stand the language, The most commonly used words in that language might be “si “playful,” “community,” “sustainable” and “modern.” “Wonky” is the word that Steinberg and McDonald use to describe one of the exterior walls of 4ch Flats, a five-unit residential proj cect they designed for a client at Fourch and George streets. The wonky wall feavures alternating copper and glass planes that slant in and out to create a dynamic facade of diagonals. Thanks the undulating panels, someone stand. ing inside has the option of three differcent views—the sy, the sidewall across the street—from the same vantage point. This trick refer- ‘ences the busy-body—an inven tion often attributed to Benjamin ‘Franklin—that graces the upper- floor windows of many Philadel- hia rowhomes, ‘The wall opens up various ines ‘f vision for the homeowner, but it clouds the comprehension of passersby who won't be able co tall immediately how many floors make up the building, “There's a secret,” says McDonald, “There's 1 game being played.” A similar game is being played ae Thin Flats (many of Plumbob’s projects end with the word *Flats”), an infill project smack in the middle of a block of standard-issue rowhomes in Northern Liberties. Thin Fass’ facades are sliced into narrow, asymmetrical striations, each with a different configuration of pan- ls, windows and bumps, mak- ing it hard to tell where one home ends and the next begins. “Wee playing with texture and chychm in order co make people question what's there,” says MeDonal. In the Beginning TS EASY TO IMAGINE THE UNCON: ‘ventional designs that characterize Plumbob projects being incubated in San Francisco or New York. But these sprung from the minds ‘of two guys from Havertown. ‘MeDonald and Steinberg geew up thers, met in junior high and remained friends while atending different colleges and architecture programs, After school, Steinberg, worked as the vice president of design and constraction for 1w0 ONE# HOME ®@ANDEN arnt 047 2