A Royal Visit to Fishtown Urby

Fishtown Urby celebrated a visit from King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, alongside local and national officials. Designed by Amsterdam-based architecture firm, Concrete, Fishtown Urby exemplifies Urby’s ongoing 15-year Dutch-American deisgn collaboration in urban living. The project reflects a shared approach to multifamily housing — combining architecture, shared spaces, and neighborhood integration within a residential environment. Explore more about Fishtown Urby.

Central to the visit, Urby founder David Barry explained the Urby brand and joined the group for a conversation focused on housing and urban development in the U.S. and the Netherlands. The open dialogue explored how residential projects, like Urby, can better support affordability, community-building, and stronger integration with their surrounding neighborhoods.

Concrete Partner and Head of Architecture Erikjan Vermeulen also shared the design intent behind the building and its relationship to the surrounding neighborhood with the royal couple alongside Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Tom Berendsen, and Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar. The visit also included a viewing of Songlines for the City, a site-specific mural by legendary Dutch tattoo artist Henk Schiffmacher, presented by Peter Ernst Coolen, Curator of Street Art Today. Integrated into the building’s façade, the work illustrates Urby’s approach to embedding art into residential environments. Learn more about Schiffmacher’s mural.