Rec Hall Renovation

The Pennsylvania State University

1999-2000

Photo credit: photos 1 - 5 by Ed Massery

The Recreation Building (“Rec Hall”) at Penn State was completed in 1928. Until 1996 it was the home of the men’s and women’s basketball teams. It is still the usual home venue for wrestling, volleyball and gymnastics. Over the years an addition was built on the building’s west side, and multiple changes were made to the main gymnasium, including the installation of a suspended ceiling that concealed the magnificent steel roof trusses of the original building. The ceiling accumulated many stains over time, as well as new panels that did not match the color of the originals. The university asked Astorino for ideas for a new ceiling, and I suggested removing it and restoring the gymnasium, as much as possible, to its original appearance.

Because extensive ductwork had been placed about the ceiling for mechanical ventilation, it was not possible within the budget to return Rec Hall to its 1928 condition. The solution to conceal the ductwork was to create a partial ceiling around the edges of the gymnasium. All new lighting was added, and acoustic panels were attached to the underside of the roof structure to control reverberation. The curved trusses were cleaned and repainted. A row of championship banners is used to distract audiences from noticing the different roof structure of the addition. The project was awarded an AIA Pennsylvania Silver Medal for design excellence in 2001.

Engineers Society of Western PA

1998

Interior photos after renovation: Ed Massery

The Engineers Society occupies an historic former bank building in downtown Pittsburgh,  designed by the famous Chicago architect Daniel Burnham. The Society operates a restaurant and bar for its members, and also rents a hall and meeting rooms on its second floor. The original restaurant, in what had been the main banking floor, was nondescript. There was nothing about the decor to suggest that the members of the Society were engineers (or in related professions, including architects).

Astorino was commissioned to remodel the interior and I was asked to lead the project from our State College office. My main inspiration was to celebrate the art of engineering. I searched the photo archives at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh and found dozens of historic photos of local major engineering projects, including bridges, tunnels, and buildings. We had the photographs reproduced and these became the main artworks in the building. 

The design of the bar and partitions in the restaurant were inspired by Pittsburgh’s bridges, and the etched glass designs used in the Society’s administrative offices were derived from historic patent office drawings. The coffered ceiling of the ornate board room had been damaged due to roof leaks. We had it restored to its original condition.

Centre House

Homeless Shelter, State College, PA

Centre House is a transitional homeless shelter located in downtown State College. The homeless shelter occupies a three-story house, which was previously expanded with a two-story addition on its rear side. It is operated by Housing Transitions. My retired Penn State faculty colleague, John Lucas, began the design of a new addition that was intended to approximately double the capacity of the shelter. When John retired and moved out of the area, he recommended to Ron Quinn, the client and Centre House Director, that I take over the project. Using John’s schematic design as a starting point, I developed a detailed design and construction documents for the new addition. Unfortunately, Centre House was unsuccessful in raising enough money to proceed with the addition. Instead, the funds were put into a complete interior renovation of the original house and some further improvements to the exterior.

The original porch was structurally deficient, so I designed a new porch and porch roof structure. Later, I led a team of students who designed a new wheelchair ramp to an accessible entrance at the rear of the building. The porch renovation and wheelchair ramp projects were performed pro bono.