A significant restoration and historic preservation effort transformed the historic building into alumni and museum spaces for Drexel University.
One of only two campus buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, The Paul Peck Alumni Center was built in 1876. The building was designed by noted Philadelphia architect, Frank Furness, to house the Centennial Bank. It featured an ornate banking room on the first floor, and office spaces on the upper level. Drexel University purchased the building after it sat vacant and deteriorating for years.
Keast & Hood provided structural engineering services for both the restoration and a rear addition. The addition was built of load-bearing masonry with bar-joist supported concrete floors and incorporated a new elevator. The original painted plaster ceiling was uncovered and restored in the main banking room. Today, the facility houses alumni gathering space and offices on the lower level and the Drexel Museum in the original top-lit office space.
A significant restoration and historic preservation effort transformed the historic building into alumni and museum spaces for Drexel University.
One of only two campus buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, The Paul Peck Alumni Center was built in 1876. The building was designed by noted Philadelphia architect, Frank Furness, to house the Centennial Bank. It featured an ornate banking room on the first floor, and office spaces on the upper level. Drexel University purchased the building after it sat vacant and deteriorating for years.
Keast & Hood provided structural engineering services for both the restoration and a rear addition. The addition was built of load-bearing masonry with bar-joist supported concrete floors and incorporated a new elevator. The original painted plaster ceiling was uncovered and restored in the main banking room. Today, the facility houses alumni gathering space and offices on the lower level and the Drexel Museum in the original top-lit office space.
CLIENT: Voith & Mactavish Architects, LLP
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
TYPE: Academic, Historic, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, Addition, Renovation, Structural Intervention, MATERIALS: Concrete, Masonry, Steel, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Completed project photography © Tom Bernard
