Project Details
- Project Name
- Union Trust Building
- Location
- PA
- Architect
- Elkus Manfredi Architects
- Client/Owner
- The Davis Companies
- Project Types
- Office
- Project Scope
- Preservation/Restoration
- Size
- 667,000 sq. feet
- Awards
- 2018 Chicago Athenaeum
- Shared by
- Elkus Manfredi Architects
- Project Status
- Built
Project Description
Built in 1918 in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Union Trust Building originally opened as a spectacular multi-level shopping arcade with shops on the lower levels and offices above. After many years of neglect, the 667,000-square-foot building was in need of revitalization.
The ten-story building, designed in a cruciform shape split into quadrants by cross-axes emanating from a central rotunda, features a grand atrium topped by a Tiffany-inspired glass dome measuring 40 feet in diameter. At the ground-floor lobby, designers created a dramatic entry and meeting space for the offices above, while faithfully restoring and respecting the original historic building. Prior to the renovation, the atrium was bare and dimly lit. Now transformed into a grand arrival space, it features a total of 19,060 square feet of richly hued, hand-tufted New Zealand wool custom carpeting. In the lobby, the carpet pattern reflects the design of the dome above. As one ascends through the nine open levels, the carpet changes color, gradating from blue on the ground floor to gold/amber on the top floor. The elevator fronts of bronze and terra cotta and the Tennessee marble floors were fully restored; the arcade was wainscoted with Tavernelle marble. A custom-designed bronze concierge desk, lobby bar, and inviting seating throughout the lobby were added, as well as 30 pieces of original art commissioned for the building, many using Pittsburgh and the Union Trust Building as their subjects.
