Philadelphia’s Famous Movie Loft Gets an Architectural Encore.

A Philadelphia cigar factory with Hollywood credentials has undergone a transformation that balances raw industrial heritage with contemporary living.

The 297-square-metre residence occupies part of a three-storey building converted from a turn-of-the-century cigar factory into artist lofts in the early 1980s—one of Philadelphia’s pioneering adaptive reuse projects. Film enthusiasts will recognise it as the backdrop for Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas in the 1993 film “Philadelphia.”

After a decade of living in this historic space, owners Sam Mink (third-generation proprietor of Philadelphia Oyster House) and husband Anthony Padilla purchased the adjacent loft when they needed additional space for entertaining. They commissioned Hope Velocette of Velocette Studio to reimagine the combined spaces.

“I was sitting, looking upward into a 4.9-metre high factory loft ceiling and hearing the client tell stories about the building’s history and their personal connection to it,” Velocette states. “This place was a magnet for innovation and change. The design would need to express that same inspirational spirit. I wanted people to feel lifted upward as soon as they entered the residence.”

The design divides the rectangular footprint longitudinally. The east side features an open-plan living space where substantial windows illuminate the kitchen, dining, and living areas with morning light. The west side contains two floors of private spaces, creating a functional contrast between communal and personal zones.

A Creative Resurgence: Watertower Loft Apartment by Studio Noakes.

Housed in an early 1900s shoe factory that manufactured boots for the Australian Army during the two World Wars, this Redfern apartment retained much of the historical attributes of its industrial era.

A full-height screen wall along the second-floor hallway serves as both a spatial divider and a design focal point. “Together the screen’s vertical slats read as a powerful volume that separates public from private and draws eyes upward. The openings between the slats generate everchanging light and shadow against adjacent surfaces,” Velocette explains.

Original brick perimeter walls remain exposed, painted warm white as a backdrop for new oak floors, custom millwork, and plaster and stone surfaces. Wood, leather, and upholstered furnishings provide elevated yet casual elements against the patinated factory finishes.

The project showcases Philadelphia craftsmanship—from the custom oak dining table by Todd Quarles of Design Build Adventure Club to the watercolour-finish mirrors, created in collaboration between Velocette Studio and Argent Mirror.

In the kitchen—the only area where lighting descends from the 4.9-metre ceiling—custom joinery with solid brass hardware and Calcutta Viola marble countertops creates a focal point.

The primary suite offers a masculine retreat with low, dark ceilings and a terracotta-inspired plaster wall functioning as both headboard and illuminated display shelf. The adjoining bathroom features black and natural terrazzo floors, brass accents, and a volcanic limestone soaker tub.

“All of the rooms face inward toward the island to emphasise it as the beating heart of the home,” notes Velocette. It is here, at this centrepiece, that a modern family gathers with friends in a space that honours its industrial past while reaching upward toward new possibilities.

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[Images courtesy of Velocette Studio. Photography by Jason Varney.]