Liberty Bell Center

On October 3, 2003, the Liberty Bell Center, the new home of the Liberty Bell, was opened to the public. The building, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, is one of the highlights of Philadelphia’s reconfigured Independence Mall.

This book offers a close look at the building. It presents an extensive set of reproductions and photographs, including records of the design and building process, that thoroughly document the building and its surroundings. The book also features essays that flesh out the building’s rich context and its historical background. They include insiders’ accounts of the design process as well as critical maps of the constellation of forces that come into play in shaping a building of this significance and quality.

Bernard J. Cywinski FAIA was an American architect and teacher, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His works include the Liberty Bell Center at Independence National Historical Park and the G. Wayne Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Rodolphe El-Khoury is an urban designer and historian. He is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Architecture and Urban Design at The University of Toronto. El-Khoury is also a partner in Khoury Levit Fong, an award winning practice that has gained international recognition for innovative design.

Richard Sommer is Professor of Architecture and Urbanism and Director of the Global Cities Institute at the Daniels Faculty. From 2009 to 2020, he was the Dean of the Daniels Faculty. Under his leadership, the Daniels Faculty grew from a school exclusively focused on professional, masters’ education in architecture, landscape and urban design to a full-fledged division, incorporating an innovative foundation in undergraduate education, a Ph.D. in Architecture, Landscape and Design Studies, and new disciplines, including Art/Visual Studies and Forestry. In the process, the Daniels Faculty quadrupled in size and scope, making it one of the most broad-based schools of its kind in North America. To accommodate the Daniels Faculty’s newfound breadth and prominence, Sommer led the transformation of 1 Spadina Crescent, remaking a landmark heritage site into an award-winning NADAAA-designed project that now serves as the school’s home and public platform

Laurie Olin is an American landscape architect. He has worked on landscape design projects at diverse scales, from private residential gardens to public parks and corporate/museum campus plans.