Masonry Magazine May 1973 Page. 14
Philip Morris's new $6 million Research Center Tower presents a dramatic vertical accent along Interstate 95 in Richmond. The 8-story, 120-ft. high structure contains more than $1 million of advanced scientific equipment and instrumentation. It joins six other buildings in the company's Research Center.
Research Center Tower
Philip Morris, Inc., Richmond, Virginia
Architect: Ulrich Franzen & Associates
General Contractor: Basic Construction Co.
Mason Contractor: Hammond Masonry Corp. (MCAA)
Structural Engineer: Aaron Garfinkel & Associates
Photography: Ezra Stoller-ESTO
RICHMOND, Va. "What is that building doing?" This question was asked of Ulrich Franzen, architect for Philip Morris's new Research Center Tower, and he was delighted to hear it.
Franzen, winner of the first biennial award for architecture The Louis Sullivan Award-presented by the Bricklayers, Masons & Plasterers International Union, is a leading advocate of the contemporary school of architecture that seeks to go beyond functionalism. He designs structures with exteriors that strongly suggest energy, activity and excitement. His interiors are highly practical yet daring, providing spatial relationships that allow things to happen with great fluidity.
Symbolically, the graceful soaring curves of the tower's cylindrical shapes suggest far-reaching research programs, while the broken planes and pragmatic-looking angular shapes indicate down-to-earth product development. And, indeed, this is what the tower does.
14
masonry
May, 1973