In 2017, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology began a three-phase project to renovate two of its six wings in what is the largest renovation in the Museum’s 120-year history. “Phase One” saw the restoration of over 82,000 GSF of the historic Harrison Auditorium and Rotunda (c. 1915) and the Coxe Memorial Wing (c. 1926), originally built to display the museum’s Egyptian Collection.
The Coxe and Harrison Wings - unchanged for a century - had become antiquities of their own. Keast & Hood has been involved with the master-planning, feasibility studies, and enabling projects leading to this renovation for almost 20 years (including a 20,000 sqft underground mechanical addition in 2005).
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In 2017, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology began a three-phase project to renovate two of its six wings in what is the largest renovation in the Museum’s 120-year history. “Phase One” saw the restoration of over 82,000 GSF of the historic Harrison Auditorium and Rotunda (c. 1915) and the Coxe Memorial Wing (c. 1926), originally built to display the museum’s Egyptian Collection.
The Coxe and Harrison Wings - unchanged for a century - had become antiquities of their own. Keast & Hood has been involved with the master-planning, feasibility studies, and enabling projects leading to this renovation for almost 20 years (including a 20,000 sqft underground mechanical addition in 2005).
The ambitious project scope included major changes to the circulation, including the addition of two elevators and a monumental stair. Three sets of restrooms were added and new HVAC systems were incorporated into galleries which exhibit ancient artifacts from around the world. These changes transform the visitor experience and all of the work was performed while the museum remained open.
The structural challenges of the project were of epic proportions: removal of three floors of the Coxe Wing for a new stair and elevator, investigation and modifications to sensitive Guastavino floor construction, creation of openings through 8 ft thick brick walls for duct mains, and floor overbuilds for ADA compliance. This work required engineers to understand materials and methods of construction from 1896 – 1926: from Roebling arches to Guastavino vaults, from plate girders to flat tile arches.
Existing terra-cotta ventilation flues and rainwater conductors in the brick walls made creation of new openings difficult and thermal scanning of the walls was required to locate and avoid these systems. Bricks were salvaged from demo and reused to rebuild jambs and match the existing building fabric.
A small corridor between the Coxe and Harrison Wings– a major bottleneck in the museum’s circulation – was significantly widened. The existing brick arches here were replaced with steel beam lintels in a complex construction sequence that transferred loads from thick load-bearing masonry walls above.
All of this work needed to be performed surgically by the CM, HSC, and their masonry subcontractor Lepore, as the building remained open to the public during construction and construction vibration was a dangerous threat to the artifacts the museum displays and conserves. Keast & Hood developed detailed suggested sequences of construction, including full sheets in the construction documents, to aid the contractors in pricing and planning this difficult work.
During construction, the museum decided to move their iconic 3000 year old, 12.5 ton Sphinx (the largest in the Western Hemisphere) from the lowest gallery of the Coxe Wing to the newly renovated Kamin Entrance a full story and a half above. Keast & Hood designed the floor infill and overbuild for the weight of the Sphinx and assisted the museum and their moving team in planning for this historical move. After resting for 90 years, the Sphinx moved “300 ft in 3 days” and will stay put for a long time.
The renovation dramatically improves the visitor experience and positions the museum for future renovations. We were proud to continue our work at this important Philadelphia institution.
CLIENT: Gluckman Tang Architects
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA
TYPE: Academic, Cultural, Historic, Special, SERVICES: Renovation, MATERIALS: SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Final PHotography © Jeffrey Totaro Photography
