Nestled in Philadelphia's University City, the Radian has provided housing options for local students for over a decade. Keeping the building's slogan "Always Up, Always On" in mind, Kuchar freshened up their entry and amenity areas with a cool palette of shiny metallics and neon accents, paired with branded blues, soft textures, and graphic patterns. The resulting spaces feel as energetic and forward-thinking as the building's hardworking residents.
Before Photos:
The Radian's lobby is a hotbed for resident activity, containing reception and leasing areas as well as multiple work and lounge spaces for students. Visitors are greeted by a new reception desk fitted with perforated metal and steel accents, set off by a backdrop of energetic linear neon mounted on blue glass. Just beyond reception we see the leasing offices, a study lounge, and several small huddle rooms for students. Starting with the brand tone, each room is painted a successively lighter blue, giving an ombre effect as one walks down the corridor.
Before Photo:
The leasing office received new finishes and furniture, bringing in a pop of blue warmed up by light wood tones. Accent lighting in the study rooms help create spaces that are perfect for finishing up an assignment before class.
The top floor amenity area also contains plenty of options for hitting the books. Here, we outfitted their existing space with a study lounge containing multiple spots for solo or group work. The space already had an existing spiral staircase up to a small mezzanine, which we outfitted with study booths. Just below that is one large conference room, perfect for group work. The chairs, lighting, carpet, and paint are all the same tone of blue, creating a monochromatic look that unifies the two floors visually.
Just beyond the lounge furniture we were able to include another unexpected element - a durable and fun niche for study lounging! We wanted to be sure to include many different types of spaces for students to study, providing as many residents as possible with an ideal spot for expanding their minds and working independently or with others.
Above the lounge niche, we installed cobalt perforated mesh panels in a shape that mirrors the space below. Illuminated neon rope hangs over the lounge furniture, bringing a fun and unexpected element to the ceiling and helping to visually fill the soaring ceiling height.
Before photos:
This top floor also includes a club room for students to unwind, relax, and hang out with friends. This space, with varied ceiling heights and great views of the skyline, was split up into a lounge zone and game space. the lounge zone is seen below, outfitted with a custom banquette with metallic base. We finished the walls behind with two different wallcoverings that worked nicely together - on the left, a fun, energetic pattern that fit the palette perfectly; on the right, a semi-aged metallic sheen to complement the existing exposed concrete. Here we also get a peek at the mural painted on the face of the soffit over the game space.
Since we removed the TV from the larger lounge by client request, we wanted to include a space for students to come together to hang out and watch the game. This area was outfitted with cobalt-painted walls and poppy, graphic tile to make cleanup easy. Wood-toned millwork adds a touch of warmth, while the pill-shaped high top and stool provides a fun place to gather and lay out snacks.
Just beyond the amenity spaces, students have access to a private roof deck with soaring views of the Philadelphia skyline. Here we provided multiple furniture groupings suitable for work or play. With the renovation complete, students have plenty of options for places throughout the building to study or hang out with friends in spaces that feel fresh and current.
Design: Kuchar
Photography provided by The Scion Group