Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake outside Ortlieb’s Bottling House in Philadelphia

Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake have announced their purchase of the Henry F. Ortlieb Company Bottling House, at the corner of N. American and Poplar Streets in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood.

KieranTimberlake will renovate the Bottling House beginning in 2013, and relocate their current studio in the Art Museum neighborhood to Northern Liberties by early 2014.

Built in 1948, the two-story, approximately 60,000 square foot building is part of the campus of buildings developed by the Ortlieb Company beginning in 1869 and through the 1940s during their reign as one of the most important brewers in Philadelphia.

Second floor, Ortlieb’s Bottling House, Nov 2012

The building will accommodate 90+ professionals in an open loft plan on the second floor, with ample workshop space on the ground floor for the firm’s design research activities. In keeping with KieranTimberlake’s sustainable design ethic, the retrofit will include fundamental improvements to the existing building envelope and the incorporation of day lighting and passive mechanical systems.

KieranTimberlake is delighted by the opportunity to contribute to the further growth of the Northern Liberties neighborhood, and give a vibrant new life to the building designed by the architect Richard Koelle of William F. Koelle & Co., a 1938 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania who studied under Paul Cret.

The purchase was made possible by financing from Beneficial Bank, with additional support from the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation.

Learn more in Natalie Kostelni’s Nov 5 piece in the Philadelphia Business Journal, ”A building from the old Ortlieb’s brewery gets reborn.”