Completed and opened in October 2006, the Urban Outfitters Corporate Campus is one of the most beautiful headquarters we’ve ever seen. Urban Outfitters, which also owns clothing brands Anthropologie and Free People, moved all of its then 600+ employees to five buildings in Philadelphia’s historic Navy Yard. Architect firm Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle was able to masterfully mix old and new, respecting the buildings’ rich history while updated and modernizing the space.
Best part? The campus really stayed true to its brand. As Inga Saffron, the architecture critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “[The architect’s] gritty mix of decay and history – accessorised with a few exquisite decorative flourishes – is exactly what the fashion retailer was seeking for its unified corporate campus. Rarely has an architecture and landscape design so thoroughly embodied a company’s corporate identity and aesthetic sensibility.”
The 330-square foot corporate campus took 20 months to design and construct and carried a total price tag of $100 million. At the time, it was considered a risk to move the entire company out of downtown and into an old shipyard. You’ll be happy to know that their “pioneering” move actually helped revitalize that part of town, creating 4,000 jobs in the Yard!