Commissioned by the Friendship Development Associates (FDA) as a central player in its community revitalization program, the Glass Lofts are a new mixed-use construction consisting of 39,000sf artist’s work spaces, 18 loft condominiums, retail and restaurant space, FDA offices and a flexible-use community space. Located at the center of the Penn Avenue Arts District, the Glass Lofts is the result of a community-driven planning process actively involving neighborhood residents, artists and business owners in the development of the project.

The driving force behind the architecture of The Glass Lofts is an idea of incomplete. Instead of seeing architecture as an absolute and final presence, the Glass Lofts is purposefully made incomplete. The users and the inevitability of time passing become essential forces in shaping, and thus completing the architecture. Neither literally nor physically incomplete, the Glass Lofts is incomplete in that it allows for and believes in change as an essential contributor to the overall design.

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Client: Friendship Development Associates
Contractor: Sota Construction Services, Inc
Project Area: 39,000sf
Completed: 2010
Photographs: Ed Massery