Editing FMC Tower (section)

== Design ==

Pelli Clarke Pelli's design for FMC Tower refines elements introduced in Cira Centre, creating a taller and more slender tower that terminates in a distinctive angular crown. The glass curtain wall uses gradations of color that transition from darker tones at the base to lighter shades at the top, creating an effect of the building dissolving into the sky. The tower's proportions—its height relative to its footprint—give it elegance that shorter, broader buildings cannot achieve. The design demonstrates the firm's continuing exploration of how glass towers can achieve presence through subtle variations in form and surface rather than through dramatic gestures.<ref name="hine">{{cite book |last=Hine |first=Thomas |title=A Guide to Contemporary Architecture in Philadelphia |year=2009 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |location=Philadelphia}}</ref>

The building's crown creates a profile that distinguishes FMC Tower on the skyline, providing visual interest at the scale of the city rather than just at street level. The angular form creates varied profiles from different viewpoints, ensuring that the tower reads differently depending on the viewer's position. This attention to the building's presence at urban scale reflects the architectural significance of tall buildings as elements of the skyline that residents and visitors encounter from throughout the city and region.<ref name="gallery"/>