Rodin Square is a mixed use project in downtown Philadelphia, across from the famed Rodin Museum. The project includes a 300 unit apartment building set atop a Whole Foods grocery and other retail storefronts. Our work included the design of the major amenity terrace for the project, a one acre rooftop garden with expansive views of the downtown skyline. The garden includes a swimming pool, party deck, and yoga lawn panel as the main amenities, all linked together by a graceful sweeping walkway.

A significant part of the rooftop garden is an extensive green roof, designed to absorb rain water and to insulate the grocery store below. This expansive area lies between the amenity areas and the individual unit patios, so that each is afforded a degree of privacy. The pool features an infinity edge along its length and a pair of sun shelves that flank each side, creating the feel of a resort in the city.

The party deck includes a dance floor, fire pit, and outdoor kitchen, and is sited close to the building to maximize its use year round. The bold forms of the rooftop garden lend it a graphic quality when viewed from above, but the rich palette of paving, planting, and furniture reveals a warmth and human scale when one enters the garden.