August 19, 2024
Provided image/Höweler + Yoon Architecture
FloatLab, an observation deck over the Schuylkill River at Bartram's Garden, is slated to open in 2026. Construction on the Mural Arts project, originally set to launch in 2022, will begin this fall.
A lime green deck will float over the Schuylkill River in 2026, offering visitors wraparound views of the water and city skyline.
FloatLab is a long-simmering collaboration between Mural Arts and Bartram's Garden, where the deck will be built. The organizations said construction will finally begin on the project in the fall, putting the deck on track to open in the summer of 2026. It was originally projected to launch in 2022.
The 75-foot-wide sloped structure will double as a secure platform and art installation. Designed by J. Meejin Yoon and her firm Höweler + Yoon Architecture, the deck is circular with the middle carved out to resemble a magnifying glass held up to the river. FloatLab, which will be accessible to the public at no cost, will serve as a kayak launch point, fishing spot, art gallery and educational space.
Work on project will begin Oct. 20. The structure is being assembled in Hertford, North Carolina, by East Coast Steel Fabrication. Once it's completed, the platform will be transported from the company's headquarters to Philadelphia. It will be installed along the section of the Schuylkill River at Bartram's Garden in late 2025, if all goes according to plan.
That part of the river has been through a round of safety tests in recent weeks, after news broke that a former oil tank farm next to Bartram's Garden had leaked hazardous chemicals into the park. Though hexavalent chromium, a substance known to cause cancer, was detected in some of the soil collected from the public trail, the chemical was not found in water samples from the river. The impacted portion of the trail at Bartram's Garden will remain closed while the owner of the adjoining property removes the contaminants.
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