Following emergency stabilization and repairs to the historic roof structure in 1989, Keast & Hood was engaged for a multi-year project to enhance the building for contemporary needs.
On the National Register of Historic Places, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music is the nation’s oldest grand opera house still used for its original function. The cultural center is home to opera, music, ballet, and community events. Keast & Hood has been involved with repairs and restoration at the building for several decades.
While surveying the existing structure for a proposed new elevator shaftway in 1989, engineers discovered two timber roof trusses that had recently failed. The freshly splintered wood and absence of dust indicated the problem was new and very serious. An emergency stabilization effort began with evacuation of the building – during intermission of an afternoon performance. More than two weeks of round-the-clock design and construction ensued. The work included removing the academy’s seating, constructing shoring towers to support the damaged structure, and repairing fractured trusses with structural steel reinforcements. A second project the following summer repaired a third truss over the stage.
Keast & Hood was then engaged to provide structural design for a major renovation of the 50,000-sf building. The project entailed design and construction of supplemental steel trusses in the auditorium attic to bolster and support the historic timber roof truss system. The existing stagehouse roof was demolished and rebuilt of structural steel and concrete to support modern set loading, infrastructure was modified for mechanical and electrical systems updates, and a mechanized orchestra pit was built. The renovation for the 21st century project was completed in 2002.
The Academy of Music for the 21st Century project earned a 2004 Grand Jury Preservation Achievement Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Following emergency stabilization and repairs to the historic roof structure in 1989, Keast & Hood was engaged for a multi-year project to enhance the building for contemporary needs.
On the National Register of Historic Places, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music is the nation’s oldest grand opera house still used for its original function. The cultural center is home to opera, music, ballet, and community events. Keast & Hood has been involved with repairs and restoration at the building for several decades.
While surveying the existing structure for a proposed new elevator shaftway in 1989, engineers discovered two timber roof trusses that had recently failed. The freshly splintered wood and absence of dust indicated the problem was new and very serious. An emergency stabilization effort began with evacuation of the building – during intermission of an afternoon performance. More than two weeks of round-the-clock design and construction ensued. The work included removing the academy’s seating, constructing shoring towers to support the damaged structure, and repairing fractured trusses with structural steel reinforcements. A second project the following summer repaired a third truss over the stage.
Keast & Hood was then engaged to provide structural design for a major renovation of the 50,000-sf building. The project entailed design and construction of supplemental steel trusses in the auditorium attic to bolster and support the historic timber roof truss system. The existing stagehouse roof was demolished and rebuilt of structural steel and concrete to support modern set loading, infrastructure was modified for mechanical and electrical systems updates, and a mechanized orchestra pit was built. The renovation for the 21st century project was completed in 2002.
The Academy of Music for the 21st Century project earned a 2004 Grand Jury Preservation Achievement Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
CLIENT: Philadelphia Orchestra Association
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
TYPE: Cultural, Historic, SERVICES: Historic Preservation, Renovation, Structural Intervention, MATERIALS: Concrete, Heavy Timber, Masonry, Steel, Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exterior photograph © Jeffrey Totaro
