G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building

The G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building is a Postmodernist skyscraper designed by WZMH Architects, and built between 1988 and 1990 in Philadelphia, PA.

G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The building has changed names several times over the years, and is also known as:

• Independence Blue Cross Tower between 1990 and 2005.
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tower.
• IBX Tower Building.

Its precise street address is 1901 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA. You can also find it on the map here.

In 2014 the G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building was awarded with the TOBY Award.

The building underwent a major restoration in 2014. The architect commissioned to undertake this restoration was Elliott-Lewis.

WZMH Architects was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but at the very least we know that there was one other part involved, that was Severud Associates Consulting Engineers in charge of Structural Engineering.

The G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building can be categorized as a Postmodernist building.

The G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building was completed in 1990. By 1990 the Postmodernism movement was experiencing a transition. Critics argued that Postmodernism, initially a rebellious and innovative style, had become formulaic and commercialized, and so the trend started moving away from blending historical styles, irony, and playful ornamentation, and begun to give way to emerging architectural trends concerned with more present matters such as technology, ecology or sustainability.

The G. Fred DiBona Jr. Building uses a framed tube-in-tube structure , with steel columns and concrete and steel slabs.

A framed tube-in-tube structure uses a central core, known as inner tube, which usually holds stairs, lifts and installations, and a perimeter of columns around it, which form the exterior tube. The interior tube is tipically more massive (often made of reinforced concrete), and the exterior tube is "lighter" (made of steel or concrete columns). Both tubes are conencted via horizontal elements which make up the floors and also transmit any horizontal froces from the facade to the core.

The facade employs a non-load bearing curtain wall system. This means the curtain wall modules are anchored to the building's structural frame at the edges of the floor slabs. The perimeter columns are set back slightly from the facade, allowing them to remain independent of the curtain wall system.

This configuration enables a completely free design of the curtain wall, unencumbered by structural elements, thus providing greater flexibility in aesthetic choices and maximizing the visual impact of the exterior.

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features a blue glass curtain wall covering the totality of the building, except for the light stone columns at the base of the east and west facades and the main entrance. The curtain wall even extends to the gable roof.

The curtain wall's pattern is interrupted at the center of each facade by 5 recessed glass bands that end in a spear shape, which begin above the window at the same level as the corner angled windows and continue to the first setback.