25 years of Design Awards

When the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) was preparing for their 50-year design awards retrospective last year, they contacted Murphy & Dittenhafer for information on projects they had recognized during M&D’s 25-year history.

The team at Murphy & Dittenhafer doesn’t enter into their projects expecting to receive awards and accolades upon completion, so they were surprised when they began to tally and realized they’d received 25 design awards – from AIA Baltimore alone – since 1993. The list reflects how well-rounded the firm is in its capabilities and expertise.

“What struck me,” says Frank Dittenhafer, “and what is meaningful, is the diversity of the projects that had been recognized, and continue to be recognized.” They don’t fall into any one category, and very few are high-profile projects supported by significant financial resources.

“Many of the projects,” Dittenhafer says, “are small, modest endeavors and involve buildings that are ordinary or not in the best condition, and they’ve received recognition for all types of uses and clients.”

The breadth of their work is clear when you look at the overall list of awards they’ve received since 1993 – a total of 167 architectural design, historic preservation, and craftsmanship awards. 

At one end of the Murphy & Dittenhafer design spectrum are projects like the Peach Bottom Recreation Center in Delta, PA, a $100,000 project to add a community gathering place in a small town. At the other end are initiatives like the Hippodrome Theare in Baltimore, MD, a $60 million restoration and preservation project. In between are a wide variety of commissions including Codo241, Ribbon Place Lofts, Byrnes Health Education Center, JCC of York, The Penn State Pullo Center/Glatfelter Library, and the Roosevelt Park pool pavilion in Baltimore. The small pavilion structure is the point of entry for a Baltimore City pool site, and it won the Grand Design Award from Baltimore AIA in 2009. 

Murphy & Dittenhafer walked away with two of the five awards presented at the Central PA AIA design awards last fall. One of them was the Good Design is Good Business award for their work on the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. It was the first time the Central PA chapter had given that particular award and it recognized Murphy & Dittenhafer’s “brilliant design and programming move that gave new life to the insitution.” 

The firm has worked with nonprofit organizations, government authorities, religious groups, colleges and universities, arts facilities, parks, low-income housing projects, and high-end lofts in abandoned warehouses. Some of their starting points were buildings that were in remarkable states of decline. They’ve come to be known for this variety, as well as consistent quality, a creative approach, and careful use of client resources, and others have taken notice. They’ve been recognized most every year over the last 20-25 years with awards bestowed by peer organizations with juries from across the country, as well as local preservation recognition from the likes of Historic York, Baltimore Heritage, and Preservation Pennsylvania. 

Murphy & Dittenhafer does a lot of work with existing historic or older buildings, and they take a sustainable approach to accommodate clients’ requirements for facilities and space that address current and future needs. Dittenhafer says it’s particularly meaningful to receive preservation awards, sometimes alongside design awards, for restoring, repairing, and renovating.

“They mean a lot, in addition to the architectural design awards,” he says. “We not only have a lot of respect for historic and existing buildings, but we certainly understand the reality that you have to supplement what exists sometimes for new, current-day needs. The recognition confirms that others feel the same way, that we have strong capabilities in doing that in a very sensitive and exciting way.”

Awards and Recognition
1993 – Present

Competition                

AIA Central PA            
AIA Pennsylvania            
AIA Maryland                
AIA Baltimore            
10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania    
Historic York                
Preservation Pennsylvania        
Preservation Maryland     
Baltimore Heritage            
Associated Builders & Contractors  
Building Congress          
Other               

Awards

            41
        5
        12
        25
    4
                16
        3
        4
            10
    14
            16
            17

CPAFF Scholarship

The Central PA chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) wanted to build on the national organization’s scholarship opportunities by adding one that was specific to the chapter’s 13-county region. They discussed the idea with community foundations within their service area and ultimately opted to work with The Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg to charter the Central Pennsylvania Architects Foundation Fund (CPAFF).

After forming the CPAFF, their next step was to develop application criteria that would further their mission to encourage and support architecture students with ties to central Pennsylvania. Frank Dittenhafer II, FAIA LEED AP was one of the charter members shepherding the chapter toward their goal of offering architecture scholarships.

“We made it very flexible,” Dittenhafer says. “We wanted to make it a very open selection process that considered financial need and talent, and you had to be a resident in the 13-county area. You did not have to be attending a Pennsylvania institution.”

In fact, Tyler Holdren, a second-year Undergraduate Architecture Student at Syracuse University, received the third annual CPAFF scholarship last fall. Holdren is a resident of Millersville in Lancaster County, and impressed the selection panel – made up of AIA Central PA past presidents – with his commitment to community involvement.

Holdren got involved with the Syracuse chapter of American Institute of Architect Students (AIAS), and their community service program, Freedom by Design. He participated in the design and construction of an outdoor classroom for children with accessibility issues.
The total application for the CPAFF scholarship is a maximum of four pages, including a one-page narrative on why architecture is important.

“We wanted to get these very potent snapshots of applicants from our region,” Dittenhafer says, “and it’s been a very successful process.” The selection panel meets annually in late summer and each person speaks briefly about their number one choice to receive the scholarship. Dittenhafer leads a discussion to narrow the list of candidates down to a single award recipient.

Funding to underwrite the scholarships comes from various sources. The Central PA AIA chapter has been supportive with consistent contributions that come from lecture series and expo proceeds, annual fundraising, and individual gifts from chapter members. The fund, held at The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, continues to grow, and scholarships are disbursed from the interest while the principle remains untouched. The CPAFF was able to grant $450 the first year, then $550 the second year, and last year they awarded Holdren a $1,000 scholarship. The 2014 Central PA Architecture Scholarship will be for at least $1,000.

The fund’s balance is strong at nearly $25,000 and growing. Over time, the group intends to increase the amount of their awards, and/or give out several in a single year. Dittenhafer and seven other CPAFF members recently met in Lancaster and outlined a five-year plan commencing in 2015 to double the scholarship endowment to $50,000 by the year 2020.

“It’s been extremely rewarding to me personally,” Dittenhafer says, “and to the other members of the foundation, to be able to do this.” Though they have not awarded exceptionally large scholarships in their first three years, Dittenhafer says the support has enabled each of the recipients, in different ways, to do things they may not otherwise have been able to do without receiving the CPAFF dollars. And it has the added benefit of coming from established leaders in the field they’re pursuing.

“It means a lot to them to receive this recognition from the architectural community in the region where they’re from,” Dittenhafer says.

Applications for the 2014 scholarship will be accepted through June 30. Application and instructions are available at http://tinyurl.com/qxe8kxu.

Marketview Arts

In its first two years, Marketview Arts has already established itself as a vibrant, collaborative community arts center. The building, located at 37 West Philadelphia Street in the heart of downtown 
York, went through a remarkable transformation after the York County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) purchased it in 2009. 
 
The former Fraternal Order of Eagles building was an underutilized property in a prime location, directly across the street from York’s historic Central Market. Like many older properties, the building had been reconfigured over the years for various uses without the benefit of being updated. The result was a disorienting maze that lacked any sense of orientation or excitement. 
 
The IDA enlisted Murphy & Dittenhafer to make sense of the hodgepodge of existing spaces, features, and structural concerns and find a way to maximize the underutilized property’s potential. Murphy & Dittenhafer solicited input from key stakeholders, including representatives from York College, York’s artist community, and the IDA’s private sector partners. This input informed Murphy & Dittenhafer’s considerations and decisions throughout the $2.8 million project. Funding for the renovation came from the IDA itself, private investors, and a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Project grant. 
 
The overarching goal was to create, in a simple, economical way, a facility that would provide 
memorable experiences for end users and visitors. Even the smallest details were carefully weighed to maximize their potential to push past the boundary of functionality into a higher level of engagement and excitement. 

Today, Marketview Arts has artist studios, classroom areas for York College art students, gallery space, an event space with adjacent restrooms, storage, and catering areas, a storefront that’s home to the westernmost point on the Pennsylvania Arts Experience’s Artist Trail, and two residential apartments. 
 
The diverse, mixed use of the property is supported by functional enhancements, such as an elevator connecting all six levels and making the facility fully handicap accessible and accessible for moving things in and out for programming and events. The renovation also included the addition of an entry at grade and on-site parking. 
 
The inherent challenges of the Marketview Arts project were fully intertwined with the inherent 
opportunities. For example, the new entry was constructed right on the property line for the parcel, next to the exit for the neighboring parking structure. Building codes precluded the ability to use any windows or glass in the wall. Murphy & Dittenhafer used the code-required blank wall as an opportunity for visual expression. They contacted Glen-Gery Brick to discuss what types of shapes and colors and finishes of brick they had in their scrap piles. Glen-Gery was inspired enough by the idea to donate all the brick that ended up in the east-facing wall of the entry, which is what passersby see when traveling past the building on Philadelphia Street. 
 
It’s this spirit of creativity and collaboration that earned Marketview Arts the prestigious 
Commonwealth Award from 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania. The annual awards recognize “Smart Growth” projects that revitalize communities, spur economic development, catalyze private investment, and serve as models of sustainable development. The recognition goes beyond architectural design and historic preservation, honoring projects that make a significant contribution to the city where they’re located. arketview Arts has not only brought life back to a vacant building, but also repurposed it in way that has made a major contribution to the market district and the downtown arts scene. 
 
Other Awards 
Prior to receiving the Commonwealth Award, the project also won a preservation award from Historic York for outstanding adaptive reuse in 2013; a Citation Award for architectural excellence from AIA Central PA in 2012; and the Trostel Award for Historic Preservation from AIA Balitmore for exemplary adaptive reuse. The jury commented that Marketview Arts is “an exemplary project involving the transformation of a vacant historic building to a community use. It is clearly a community-initiated project, rather than one driven by a developer. This project shows the virtue of doing a lot with a little, and the patina of the element of time.”