Murphy & Dittenhafer Design for York JCC Under Construction

The York Jewish Community Center’s membership is thriving beyond the capacity of their facility, and construction for two new additions is underway.

After evaluating multiple expansion/renovation options within a feasibility study, the York JCC commissioned Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects to design the alterations and additions to the facility, including a 10,820-square foot childcare addition and 6,240-square foot wellness center addition. The design incorporates significant natural daylighting, energy conservation measures, views of the campus quadrangle, and extends the signature JCC vocabulary of multicolored masonry and blue metal roofs.

The expanded childcare wing will include four DPW-certified classrooms and a flexible motor skills room with high ceiling heights. The expanded wellness wing will include three large new rooms for weightlifting, various individual and group fitness programs, and a dance studio. The final plans also include renovations and systematic updates to several existing areas of the facility, including locker rooms, administrative areas, and a babysitting room.

The building will remain occupied and fully operational throughout construction, requiring the project construction to be phased for minimal disruption of the organization’s programming.

Construction began in December 2014, and Murphy & Dittenhafer expects completion and occupancy of this $5,600,000 project by the end of 2015.

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Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects is an award-winning architectural firm that focuses on planning, interior, and architectural design projects involving new construction, renovation, restoration, and adaptive reuse for historic properties, churches, urban housing, nonprofit organizations, higher education, and libraries. The firm’s offices are located in York, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland. Visit their website at murphdittarch.com.

Murphy & Dittenhafer Restores Historic Church

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (known locally as Old St. Paul’s), a historic landmark on the 200 block of North Charles Street in Baltimore, is the city’s oldest church structure. It was designed by renowned architect Richard Upjohn and constructed in 1856. Its historical significance is underscored by the prominent people who were members of the parish, including Samuel Chase, John Eager Howard, Thomas Johnson, and Baltimore Mayor and Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer.

Renovations in 1902 included painting the sanctuary in three shades of gray. Later updates had all wall, column, and ceiling surfaces covered in beige, completely obscuring the original architectural intentions and color scheme. Over the years, the plaster ornamentation deteriorated from neglect and moisture.

(BEFORE)

For over a decade, the congregation at Old St. Paul’s sat, uninspired, in the dimly-lit sanctuary, wanting to restore the church so it could more appropriately accommodate their worship and inspire attendees. The effort was derailed by indecision, false starts, and disagreements among the congregation on how best to proceed.

Eventually, Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects got involved and provided the leadership and design expertise to guide the project. They provided oversight for the repair and restoration to the historic sanctuary, entry, and auxiliary spaces originally constructed in 1856.

Murphy & Dittenhafer conducted forums with the church’s stakeholders, with their starting point incorporating a thorough analysis and understanding of the building’s history.

In order to gain access to the sixty-foot high sanctuary ceilings, walls, and nave components for repair and restoration, Murphy & Dittenhafer planned and facilitated the installation of a complex scaffolding system five stories high with three platforms at different heights.

They comprehensively repaired and restored deteriorated plaster, developed a cohesive paint palette that was historically accurate, and relit the sanctuary with new lighting integrated into the historic timber structure and interior plaster cornices and coves. The overall effect was warm and bright, and the project completely transformed the feeling of the sanctuary.

One of the key features of the restored Old St. Paul’s is the “sky blue” wood sanctuary ceiling painted with gold stars. Upjohn’s original 1856 design referenced gold stars painted onto the pitched, gabled roof nave ceiling. Forensic evidence of the stars in Old St. John’s was inconclusive, but the congregation’s response to incorporating the stars was overwhelmingly positive and generated additional funding for the project. Murphy & Dittenhafer researched Upjohn’s use of ceiling star designs in other churches and developed a pattern of stylized, six-sided, gold painted stars.

The restoration has re-energized and united an urban congregation charged with the living stewardship of a landmark structure. The space has been updated in a way that seamlessly merges history and modern congregational needs. It was done with Murphy & Dittenhafer’s trademark sensitivty, and was completed on time and within a very modest budget of only $265,000.

The project was recognized in fall 2014 with design awards from The American Institute of Architects in both the Central Pennsylvania and Baltimore chapters.

Murphy & Dittenhafer Receives State Award for Historic Preservation

Murphy & Dittenhafer’s work on Schmucker Hall, at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, was recognized by Preservation Pennsylvania at the 2014 Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Awards ceremony on Friday, September 26 at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA.

The awards, which have been presented annually since 1979, honor those projects that exemplify the core values of historic preservation. The 2014 selection committee commented:

“This rehabilitation project utilized federal rehabilitation investment tax credits, which required adherence to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation and the preservation of the building’s character-defining features. The project involved accessibility upgrades, structural stabilization, roof replacement, reconstruction of lost elements including the east entry stairs and the 1914 Peace Portico.

The resulting space provides a venue for a state-of-the-art interpretive museum...Schmucker Hall has been rehabilitated to provide a unique venue that invites the public to actively engage in stories related to the history of the building, site and region.”

Frank Dittenhafer II, FAIA, LEED AP, Murphy & Dittenhafer principal-in-charge for the Schmucker Hall/Seminary Ridge Museum rehabilitation, stated, “It was truly a privilege to be the architect for this landmark project and work with a dedicated team of collaborators over several years - from the initial adaptive reuse concept planning through the final restoration and repair of historic components. The design, planning, and construction process was extremely positive and the final outcome exceptional.

In addition to Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects, the award honored the project’s other partners, including: Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation, Adams County Historical Society, Delta Development Group, Inc., Whiting Turner Contracting Company, and Morgan-Keller, Inc.

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Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects is an award-winning architectural firm that focuses on planning, interior, and architectural design projects involving new construction, renovation, restoration, and adaptive reuse for historic properties, churches, urban housing, nonprofit organizations, higher education, and libraries. The firm’s offices are located in York, Pennsylvania and Baltimore, Maryland. Visit their website at murphdittarch.com.