Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters

The Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters, completed in 1965 in downtown Philadelphia, is an outstanding example of the mid-twentieth century's modem movement style of architecture in the City of Philadelphia. The building consists of an abundance of Plexiglas, which the company patented in the 1930s, and the artwork and sculpture around the building are composed of the company's acrylic materials. The building was constructed at a time when the city attempted to curb movements to the suburbs through its urban renewal programs, buying and clearing properties deemed unseemly or dilapidated and working with new businesses to build modern buildings in their place.  

Two young German entrepreneurs, chemist Otto Rohm and businessman Otto Haas, founded what would become the Rohm and Haas Company in 1907; the two partners produced a chemical product used in the leather tanning industry. Early success allowed the partners to establish a U.S. office in Philadelphia in 1909. When the U.S. entered World War I, the federal government pressured the company to sever its ties with its German parent company. Thus, the American firm of Rohm and Haas was born, solely led by Otto Haas.

Haas' Rohm and Haas Company expanded and diversified its production of chemicals amidst the robust 1920s economy and then not only managed to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s but evolved into a global company. Indeed, on June 1935, Rohm and Haas developed sheets of solid transparent resinous material used as a glass substitute, trademarked by Rohm and Haas on September 8, 1936, as "Plexiglas." The new product proved instrumental during World War II as the U.S. military used it in its military aircraft, which helped the once-German company, Rohm and Haas, experience exponential growth during the war. 

After the war, Rohm and Haas' again concentrated on civilian uses for its products, helped in part by both the burgeoning automobile industry and the housing boom of the 1940s and 1950s. The company's Plexiglas could be found in everything from automobiles to skylights, while its newly-developed acrylic paints and varnishes, which dried rapidly and were easily cleaned, could be found in an abundance of new homes and commercial properties during the post-war building boom. Rohm and Haas opened new manufacturing plants in the United States and Europe during the 1950s. And, the business' post-war economic growth also led to the construction of the company's own new building, the now-historic Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters. on Independence Mall by the 1960s.

In 1960, Otto Haas died, leaving the company to his son, Dr. Fritz Otto Haas (F. Otto Haas). F. Otto expanded the company's foreign operations and research and development facilities. Under F. Otto's leadership, the company decided to move its headquarters from a collection of buildings on Philadelphia's Washington Square to an efficient new building on Independence Mall. Rohm and Haas approached the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia (RDA), who, under the auspices of "urban renewal," had for years acquired and cleared property through condemnation, paving the way for new development to emerge in downtown Philadelphia in the post-war era. The city and mayor fully embraced Rohm and Haas' desire to relocate to Independence Mall (many companies in several U.S. cities had fled to the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s). 

Because Rohm and Haas had to work with the RDA, the City Planning Commission and City Art Commission rigorously reviewed the design process; they insisted on a modern design (in contrast with the nearby historical Independence Hall). Approval of the final plan occurred in 1962. Moreover, as stated National Register of Historic Places nomination form: "The modem movement was an era marked by scientific and technological advances, an expanding economy, a rising standard of living, developing urban pressures, and a new awareness amongst architects of the social purpose of architecture. Architects of the modem movement adopted a pragmatic approach; their buildings demonstrated straightforward expression, a newfound awareness of the environment, structural honesty, and functional integrity. As a discipline, architecture remained rooted in the fundamental concepts of the interrelation of light, space, and texture, but with a new awareness of the architect's role in shaping the physical environment. The Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters embodies the distinctive characteristics of the style, including departure from historical precedent, straightforward structural expression, absence of ornamentation, innovative use of modem materials and technologies, environmental awareness, truth in materials, and simplicity and restraint in execution."

The building contained 73,000 square feet or 1-2/3 acres of the company's Plexiglas, making it the largest installation of its kind ever built at the time of construction. Another unique aspect of the project was the incorporation of art. The Redevelopment Authority required that the company spend a substantial amount of money on artwork, so Rohm and Haas took the opportunity to use their acrylic plastic in creating artwork and sculptures. Rohm and Haas formed a company Art Committee, which commissioned one outdoor sculpture, two Plexiglas murals, and one acrylic sculpture. 

Hamilton, Cynthia Rose. "Registration Form: Rohm and Haas Corporate Headquarters." National Register of Historic Places. archives.gov. 2006. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996992.

Pennsylvania Architectural Field Guide. Modern Movement 1925 - 1950. Pennsylvania History & Museum Commission. phmc.state.pa.us. August 26, 2015. http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/architecture/styles/modern-movements.html. 

Weigley, Russell Frank; Wainwright, Nicholas B; Wolf, Edwin. Philadelphia: A 300-Year History. New York: W.W. Norton, 1982.