A glass needle that hides a public living room—and a giant geometric planetarium—right at street level.
Skyscraper located in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, United States.
Featured in Norman Foster's definitive monograph, Norman Foster: A Life in Architecture.
Visitor Guide
Don’t just crane your neck: walk straight into the Winter Garden and time it for the giant LED “Comcast Experience” wall loop; if you want The Universal Sphere, book a slot and show up 10–15 minutes early because the queue looks shorter than it is.
Stand on the northeast corner of 18th St & Arch St (across from the main entry), shoot 20–30 minutes before sunset for reflections that don’t wash out the sky.
You can go inside the public ground-level spaces (Winter Garden / Comcast Experience) daily; The Universal Sphere is a free ticketed experience with timed reservations. Upper office/hotel levels aren’t generally open to visitors.
Foster treats the base as an ‘urban room’—the tower’s real civic gesture is not the height, it’s the sheltered interior plaza that behaves like a climate-controlled street.
30–60 minutes
Design & Structure
Performance-first high-rise design: stepped massing to manage wind and skyline presence, a highly coordinated BIM façade package, and environmental systems tuned to comfort (including chilled beams) rather than brute-force air volume. The Universal Sphere’s skin reads as an infinite geometric field—architecture as pattern-engineering, not ornament.
High-performance glass curtain wall for daylight and city reflections; a warm, hard-wearing interior palette in the public ‘urban room’ to survive constant foot traffic; the Sphere’s interlocking panel system turns geometry into atmosphere.
A supertall that behaves like infrastructure: a stiff core-and-frame system engineered for wind comfort while keeping the base porous and public—no small feat when the building also stacks studios, offices, and a hotel.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who designed Comcast Technology Center?+
Comcast Technology Center was designed by Norman Foster and completed in 2018. It is located in Philadelphia, United States.
Where is Comcast Technology Center located?+
Comcast Technology Center is located in Philadelphia, United States. Its coordinates are 39.9550°, -75.1700°.
When was Comcast Technology Center built?+
Comcast Technology Center was completed in 2018. It was designed by Norman Foster.
Can I visit Comcast Technology Center?+
Comcast Technology Center is a real building in Philadelphia that can be viewed from the outside. Check local information for interior access and visiting hours. Use the Parametric Atlas walking tour feature to plan a route that includes this building.