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

The 1916 Beneficial Savings Fund Society building designed by Horace Trumbauer is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a landmark building in center city’s legal district. The building’s most recent renovation was 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 provides practice courtroom and classroom space for Drexel University’s Kline School of Law. The complete project program includes 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 includes the addition of an elevator and second set of stairs to provide means of egress and an extension of the 1936 mezzanine level. Programmatic modifications and MEP upgrades also require structural intervention. Project challenges include 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 lead 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.

CLIENT: Jay Tackett & Co
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

TYPE: Academic, Historic, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, Restoration, MATERIALS: Masonry, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Final Photography © Halkin | Mason Photography