Project Details
- Project Name
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts John and Richanda Rhoden Arts Center
- Location
-
118-128 North Broad Street
PA
- Architect
- DLR Group
- Client/Owner
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
- Project Types
- Education
- Project Scope
- Preservation/Restoration
- Size
- 15,000 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2019
- Shared by
- Miabelle Salzano
- Project Status
- Built
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Located in the previously unused lower level of the historic 1920s-era Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) John and Richanda Rhoden Arts Center is part of DLR Group’s multi-phased master plan that encompasses both the 280,000 SF Hamilton Building and the iconic Furness and Hewitt Historic Landmark Building, which is considered the first modern landmark and one of the most significant historic structures in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. PAFA’s new Arts Center realizes a key aspect of the master plan to create design solutions that preserve the Academy’s historic structures while addressing student population growth and collection care needs. The Hamilton Building remains a significant structure, not only to the Academy but also to the history of Philadelphia. DLR Group’s design delivers a new Arts Center that respects the history of the structure and reinforces PAFA’s image as a nationally known institution where fine art is created and celebrated.
The 15,000-SF Arts Center includes a state-of-the-art 265-seat auditorium, a new gallery for student art exhibitions, and a collections storage vault for 20th- and 21st-century artwork. The auditorium includes an electro-acoustical enhancement system that simulates the acoustics of a much larger space and allows for unamplified classical music performances. In addition to performances and artwork created by and for PAFA, the new Arts Center will also host performances, concerts, lectures, and other events created in partnership with Arts Center partners, including the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, 900AM-WURD, the Fabric Workshop and Museum, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, and Mural Arts Philadelphia. DLR Group provided master planning, architecture, engineering, interior design, historic preservation, audiovisual, information transport, and lighting design services.
DLR Group acquired Westlake Reed Leskosky in September 2016. Today, the combined design expertise and resources of Westlake Reed Leskosky and DLR Group serve clients as a global, integrated design firm committed to elevating the human experience through design.
