Located in Philadelphia’s burgeoning North American Street creative corridor, Ray—a brand rooted in hospitality, art, and design—has debuted its first residential building, Ray Philly. With 110 units ranging in size from studios to two-bedrooms, the 103,000-square-foot building also includes six ground-floor art studios, a commercial space, and a free communal art studio (or makerspace) for residents.
The apartments feature contemporary design with large windows and blonde oak floors. Residents will have access to a landscaped rooftop garden; a coworking lounge; a gym and yoga studio; a fully outfitted communal kitchen; and the makerspace with workshop tables. In the sunken living room, residents can view an original art installation by Rashid Johnson, which includes a stacked cell system, and a library curated by Ulises, a bookshop and curatorial collective that will be an inaugural studio tenant.
Featuring publicly accessible art spaces, the project will also offer unique programming through partnerships with the local creative community and will include original art installations by local artists Marian Bailey and Michelle Lopez, who is also a first studio tenant. Inviting the neighborhood in, the artist studios use roll-up glass garage doors that open directly onto North American Street.
Lopez installed an exterior piece with the words “When Under One Sky” on the corner of the building, exploring the themes of unity and possibility. Other installations can be found throughout the building’s amenity spaces, including work from Bailey and other local talent. Ray Philly’s event and exhibition space, Studio 105, will be open for public programming and ongoing art exhibitions.
"Ray Philly is a home and gathering space where people can express their unique voices and perspectives, whether as residents of the building or participants in Ray's free public programming," says Suzanne Demisch, creative director at Ray. "We're excited to be part of the City of Brotherly Love and look forward to delivering an experience that brings art and design into people's daily lives."
Developed in partnership with Philadelphia-based Six Acre Capital, Ray Philly was designed by architectural firm Leong Leong. "We were excited to partner with Ray because of our shared interest in supporting the creative ecosystems of our cities and centering the needs of artist communities," says Dominic Leong, founding partner at Leong Leong. "The design for Ray Philly references the historic industrial buildings of the neighborhood with its unique hand-split brick facade—a gesture that is both contextual and contemporary through its attention to craft."
