A two-phase project infilled an open area on campus with a new service building and a field house designed to accommodate activities indoors and on the building’s rooftop playing field.

The project virtually filled in the open area north of the school building, east of the Gesu Church, and south of the Villager School. Phase I involved engineering design for a four-story service building that houses locker rooms, a wrestling arena, receiving area, and boiler room. Columns and foundations along the north wall of the service building were designed to support the roof trusses from the field house, and were fabricated with bolt holes for connection to the future trusses.

Kelly Field House is essentially a large box – 230 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 41 feet from floor to roof. The roof is supported on ten steel trusses each spanning the width of the space. The parallel chord roof truss assemblies yield a flat roof that was designed as a practice playing field. An interior running track around the field house perimeter is supported by hangers from the roof trusses above.

A two-phase project infilled an open area on campus with a new service building and a field house designed to accommodate activities indoors and on the building’s rooftop playing field.

The project virtually filled in the open area north of the school building, east of the Gesu Church, and south of the Villager School. Phase I involved engineering design for a four-story service building that houses locker rooms, a wrestling arena, receiving area, and boiler room. Columns and foundations along the north wall of the service building were designed to support the roof trusses from the field house, and were fabricated with bolt holes for connection to the future trusses.

Kelly Field House is essentially a large box – 230 feet long, 110 feet wide, and 41 feet from floor to roof. The roof is supported on ten steel trusses each spanning the width of the space. The parallel chord roof truss assemblies yield a flat roof that was designed as a practice playing field. An interior running track around the field house perimeter is supported by hangers from the roof trusses above.

CLIENT: John Blatteau Associates
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

TYPE: Academic, Athletic, SERVICES: Addition, Renovation, MATERIALS: Steel, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Completed project photography © Tom Crane