The Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building underwent adaptive reuse from a 1920s commercial building into space for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The museum obtained the Reliance Standard Life Insurance Building as an adjunct facility to support its conservation, archival storage, and administrative needs. The Reliance Building was built in the 1920s by Philadelphia architects Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary; it is regarded as one of the city’s best examples of Art Deco style. The Ruth and Raymond Perelman Building is named after donors of the largest monetary gift in the museum’s history. The building houses archival art storage, gallery spaces, a library, administrative offices, art conservation studios, and a café. The project entailed a 60,000-sf addition, 108,000-sf renovation, and exterior restoration of the existing five-story structure. A three-story addition was also constructed to house the collections.
Keast & Hood upgraded the floor structure by removing many of the building’s existing concrete floor joists and replacing with steel to increase floor loading requirements to support archival art storage. Freight and passenger elevators were added along with new MEP systems and equipment throughout. Construction of the addition required complete structural design services, including those for a complex, sloping wall in the gallery.
In addition to providing structural engineering services for the renovation and adaptive reuse of the Perelman Building, Keast & Hood was involved with exterior restoration of the 1927 Art Deco landmark. The boomerang-shaped building includes three wings with gabled, tiled roofs and two pavilions with flat roofs and ornate terra cotta cresting. The comprehensive exterior project corrected and restored deteriorated marble, granite, and limestone; corroded window lintels and shelf angles; and cracked and spalling concrete foundations. Keast & Hood participated in the removal and replacement of the roofing membranes and terra cotta roof tiles, and the installation of new skylights and curbs on the building’s Fairmount Avenue wing. Repairs were made to the limestone and granite masonry walls, while marble veneer at the main entrance was removed, repaired, and reset. On the building’s rear side, brick masonry and shelf angles were rehabilitated. Concrete fire balconies were removed from the north wing, and brick masonry infilled. Deteriorated concrete was also repaired. In addition to restorative work, an ADA entrance was provided in the sidewalk level of the Fairmount Pavilion; this entailed introducing new steel beams to support the stone facing and backup, cutting new openings in the wall and floor, constructing a new concrete slab and parapet, and resetting limestone and granite facing stones.
The overall project was recognized with a Mid-Atlantic Construction Best of 2007 Award of Merit for Adaptive Reuse and a 2007 Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia Grand Jury Award.
The Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building underwent adaptive reuse from a 1920s commercial building into space for the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The museum obtained the Reliance Standard Life Insurance Building as an adjunct facility to support its conservation, archival storage, and administrative needs. The Reliance Building was built in the 1920s by Philadelphia architects Zantzinger, Borie, and Medary; it is regarded as one of the city’s best examples of Art Deco style. The Ruth and Raymond Perelman Building is named after donors of the largest monetary gift in the museum’s history. The building houses archival art storage, gallery spaces, a library, administrative offices, art conservation studios, and a café. The project entailed a 60,000-sf addition, 108,000-sf renovation, and exterior restoration of the existing five-story structure. A three-story addition was also constructed to house the collections.
Keast & Hood upgraded the floor structure by removing many of the building’s existing concrete floor joists and replacing with steel to increase floor loading requirements to support archival art storage. Freight and passenger elevators were added along with new MEP systems and equipment throughout. Construction of the addition required complete structural design services, including those for a complex, sloping wall in the gallery.
In addition to providing structural engineering services for the renovation and adaptive reuse of the Perelman Building, Keast & Hood was involved with exterior restoration of the 1927 Art Deco landmark. The boomerang-shaped building includes three wings with gabled, tiled roofs and two pavilions with flat roofs and ornate terra cotta cresting. The comprehensive exterior project corrected and restored deteriorated marble, granite, and limestone; corroded window lintels and shelf angles; and cracked and spalling concrete foundations. Keast & Hood participated in the removal and replacement of the roofing membranes and terra cotta roof tiles, and the installation of new skylights and curbs on the building’s Fairmount Avenue wing. Repairs were made to the limestone and granite masonry walls, while marble veneer at the main entrance was removed, repaired, and reset. On the building’s rear side, brick masonry and shelf angles were rehabilitated. Concrete fire balconies were removed from the north wing, and brick masonry infilled. Deteriorated concrete was also repaired. In addition to restorative work, an ADA entrance was provided in the sidewalk level of the Fairmount Pavilion; this entailed introducing new steel beams to support the stone facing and backup, cutting new openings in the wall and floor, constructing a new concrete slab and parapet, and resetting limestone and granite facing stones.
The overall project was recognized with a Mid-Atlantic Construction Best of 2007 Award of Merit for Adaptive Reuse and a 2007 Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia Grand Jury Award.
CLIENT: Gluckman Mayner Architects
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
TYPE: Cultural, Historic, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, Addition, Condition Assessment, Façade Assessment, Renovation, Restoration, MATERIALS: Concrete, Masonry, Steel, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Completed project photography © Jeffrey Totaro
