Kline Trial Advocacy Building | Drexel University

The 1916 Beneficial Savings Fund Society building, designed by Horace Trumbauer, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a landmark building in center city’s legal district. The building underwent its most recent renovation in 1935, with the addition of a mezzanine. Drexel University acquired the building in 2015 through the donation of a benefactor.

The building’s adaptive reuse and renovation provided practice courtroom and classroom space for Drexel University’s Kline School of Law. The complete project program included a large ceremonial courtroom, two smaller practice courtrooms, two conference rooms and classrooms, faculty offices, administrative space, and casual spaces for student and faculty interaction.

Structural scope included the addition of an elevator and a second set of stairs to provide means of egress, as well as an extension of the 1936 mezzanine level. Programmatic modifications and MEP upgrades also required structural intervention. Project challenges included fulfilling ADA requirements within an historic building while adhering to the NPS Secretary of Interior’s Standards.

Keast & Hood’s vast experience with historic buildings and Horace Trumbauer’s designs led to a creative structural solution for the insertion of a new 56-foot-tall stair, which did not allow for normal bracing. The stairs’ support culminated in a design combination of suspension and bearing at the first floor.