Dittenhafer Named President PSU Architecture Alumni Group

Frank E. Dittenhafer II, FAIA, LEED AP, Owner and co-founder of Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects—an award-winning firm with offices in York, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland—was recently elected President of the Architecture Alumni Group of The Pennsylvania State University. The group’s purpose, according to their Constitution, “shall be to stimulate continued interest of all graduates and friends of the Department, to act as an advisory board to the Department, and to provide a means whereby alumni and friends may have enhanced relations and interactions with the Department.”

Frank commented, “Serving as President of Penn State’s Architecture Alumni Group is truly an honor, and I look forward to collaborating with the other Board members, faculty, students, and alumni on some exciting initiatives. Specifically, I am looking forward to the upcoming launch of PennStateArchilink – an online resource website for “connecting” current Penn State Architecture students with PSU Architecture alumni in geographic locations across the country (and globe) for advice, specific information or just conversation over a cup of coffee.”

Dittenhafer graduated with honors from Penn State University in 1978, receiving a B.S. in Architecture, and for over 25 years has hired and mentored PSU architectural graduates at his firm. His continuing involvement with Penn State also includes the design of such noteworthy projects at Penn State’s York Campus as the Pullo Family Performing Arts Center, Lee R. Glatfelter Library, the Swenson Engineering Center, “The Lair” student lounge, and the Ruhl Student Community Center renovations.  Dittenhafer serves on the Advisory Board of Penn State University’s York Campus and was their 2013 Spring Commencement speaker.

Mr. Dittenhafer also attended the University of Pennsylvania, achieving a Master of Architecture and receiving the E. Lewis Dales Traveling Fellowship and Bronze Medal for design. Now inspiring a new generation of architects, Dittenhafer has been an adjunct faculty member at the University of Maryland, College Park, design critic for the Pennsylvania School of Art and Design and Harrisburg Area Community College, and chair of numerous AIA Design Award juries. He also serves on Morgan State University’s Architecture Advisory Board and chairs the Central PA Architecture Foundation Fund Scholarship Board.   

Upon Frank Dittenhafer’s 2007 induction into the AIA College of Fellows, FAIA jury members shared that Dittenhafer, “through highly imaginative but rooted and contextually sensitive design, has significantly enriched the urban and architectural character of Central Pennsylvania and the surrounding region.” Dittenhafer and his firm have received regional, state and local design award and historic preservation  recognition for over 170 projects, among them CODO 241, the Lofts on George Street, Market Street Parking Garage, and The Marketview Arts Center in Pennsylvania; and the University of Baltimore Student Center, Boonsboro Public Library and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Maryland.

Architect’s Design - Serving Those Who Have Served

A new three-story building designed by Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects and located on Penn Avenue in downtown Scranton addresses the needs of a grossly underserved population: veterans who have fallen on hard times. St. Francis Commons was commissioned by Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton and constructed on a site adjacent to the St. Francis Kitchen food pantry.

This new three-story transitional housing facility is utilized primarily by veterans discharged from the nearby VA hospital suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and in need of transitional housing.

“St. Francis Commons is a real gift to the community and in particular to homeless veterans,” says Monsignor Joseph Kelley, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services. “The veterans that we are serving are extremely happy with the program and able to get the services they need. We’ve been very successful in finding them part-time and full-time employment so they can move on to permanent housing.”

There are currently 28 residents at the facility. Kelley says that five of the residents who found a home at St. Francis Commons since they opened in July have already moved to permanent housing.

“They’re coming in as fast as they’re going out,” Kelley says.

Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects planned and designed the much-needed facility, a $6.4 million project. The design of the exterior is urban and visually very appealing, incorporating a variety of materials, colors, and textures - breaking the stereotype of single-room occupant housing. The upper two floors of The Commons includes affordable transitional housing for up to 30 veterans. Those referred by the Department of Veterans Affairs can rent the dorm-style units for up to two years, so that they may live in dignity and access supportive services to help them find employment, counseling, medical care, education, transportation, and whatever other services they may need to regain self-sufficiency. Residents can also gain job training and life skills through the opportunity to volunteer at the on-site food pantry and clothing store.

Eight of the 30 rental units are fully accessible, including one unit equipped for those with audio-visual impairments. Each floor has common areas with kitchen, dining, and lounge spaces. Murphy & Dittenhafer Interiors, led by Frank Dittenhafer II, FAIA, LEED, AP, and Debra Miller-Schober, CID-IIDA, ensured that the interior palette of materials, finishes, and colors provided an expression of warmth, dignity, and interest.

The new facility allows Catholic Social Services to better meet the needs of the veterans they serve. Monsignor Kelley says that they offered the same services before, but not in such an inviting environment. He says the building itself makes the residents feel much more independent. In place of the former shared rooms and communal baths, there are now private rooms with private baths to offer more privacy. And being co-located with St. Francis Kitchen, the free clothing store, and food pantry means they have access to those amenities and opportunities to volunteer - right there on-site. Monsignor Kelley says the volunteer opportunities are a critical piece of the puzzle.

“They benefit greatly by feeling valuable and needed,” he says. “We’re able to give them the opportunity to give.”

Having all these services in one place is unusual, and St. Francis Commons has immediately become a model for integrated residential services for homeless veterans. There are a number of residences for homeless veterans around the U.S., but nothing that’s so closely connected to these other opportunities. Monsignor Kelley says that programs in other parts of the country are making arrangements to visit and take a look at what’s happening in Scranton.

“Our office considered it a tremendous privilege to be selected for this commission and to be given the opportunity to enhance the lives of homeless veterans,” says Frank Dittenhafer, principal-in-charge for Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects. “We accepted the challenge that our architectural design for this new building would translate into a facility that not only serves a much-needed purpose, but would also inspire all who live, work, and volunteer at St. Francis Commons.

Construction on the 24,000-square foot building began in April 2013 and was completed in May 2014. Catholic Social Services hosted a dedication and blessing ceremony in July 2014.

Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects Complete Block 563/Howard Street East Redvelopment Design Concepts

Commissioned by Baltimore Development Corporation in 2014, Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects has recently completed the concept master plan design for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of twenty existing properties on a 2.5-acre parcel known as Block 563 in the historic Market Center District on the west side of downtown Baltimore, MD.

The project integrated comprehensive building and site analysis, including evaluations of traffic patterns, zoning, utilities, infrastructure, current and planned development activities within the neighborhood, and historic preservation considerations of the Maryland Historic Trust and Baltimore City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP).

Murphy & Dittenhafer’s final concept redevelopment design incorporates the preservation of at least 15 historic structures and façades along Howard Street, Franklin Street, and Park Avenue in conjunction with the adaptive reuse of the five-story brick substation buried in the middle of the block at 409-419 Tyson Street. New construction for mid-rise mixed-use is proposed at the corner of Mulberry Street and Park Avenue to replace the existing two-level concrete parking structure, along with multilevel construction at the on-grade parking lot at 215 West Franklin. The plan also identifies select site opportunities for new multilevel infill construction, replacing non-contributing structures or those that have structurally collapsed along both North Howard and West Franklin Streets.

The Murphy & Dittenhafer plan proposes a vibrant mixed-use redevelopment for the entire block that is residentially based, accommodating over 200 new residential units at upper floor levels, over 20 new retail/office/commercial locations at street level, a major new commercial designation within the tall volume lower-level substation spaces, and possibilities for multilevel structured parking at two locations internal to the block and not visible from perimeter streets, with landscaped green roof courtyards above. New mid-block pedestrian connections from Howard Street and Park Avenue are proposed as part of the transformation of this one-block section of Tyson Street from a narrow, nondescript paved roadway to a pedestrian-friendly space celebrating the alley-like culture of the block and the adaptive reuse of the dynamic substation structure.

“The redevelopment will provide a contemporary and refreshing approach to reinvigorate this district,” says Murphy & Dittenhafer project manager Lauren Merrill, “while designing with a sensitivity that enhances the important historical character of the neighborhood.

Murphy & Dittenhafer expects Baltimore Development Corporation to release a Request for Proposals from development teams for the various parcel zones of Block 563 within the first half of 2015.