Eastern University - Templeton Hall

Templeton Hall, previously Workman Hall, is the culmination of additions and renovations to a historic campus house. Today, it is home to Eastern University’s Templeton Honors College.

Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography

The project was part of a capital initiative and created a space dedicated to the liberal, fine and performing arts. The design team reconfigured floor plans of the original building while an addition introduced flexible spaces that could host campus and community events, speakers, and display art. The communal areas and classrooms serve the Honors College’s pedagogical mission and foster a shared life of friendship, conversation and study between students and faculty.

Project Highlights

Client:
Eastern University

Location:
St. Davids, PA

Services:
Architecture 

Interior Design

Type:
Renovations

Adaptive Reuse

A hand-carved, slate plaque was commissioned especially for Templeton Hall.

The Past Meets the Present

Unifying Design

As part of their overall strategic plan, Eastern University decided to make updates to this historic campus building.

Construction began in 2024, creating a home for the school’s Honors College. Updates created offices, seminar rooms, an interior courtyard, a recital hall and art gallery, along with completing renovations to existing common areas and offices.

The Neo-Gothic-style building features exterior elements like limestone arches, buttresses, a tower and a hand-carved, slate plaque commissioned especially for this project. Designers carefully planned the new addition to seamlessly intersect and harmonize with the original structure. The original stone and hardwood flooring, arched doorways, staircase railings, built-in bookcases, a bay window and fieldstone walls are still present in the building. Rounded and peaked arches throughout the building mirror the original design, and the new fieldstone and mortar were carefully chosen to match the original.

Bracketing detail

Commitment to tradition

Carefully chosen elements highlight the space

The University’s commitment to stewardship and tradition is visible through its interior detailing and furnishings.

Decorative stained millwork, wood paneling and carvings are present throughout the building and include refinements such as the University’s shield on the recital hall bracketing. Natural materials such as wood, stone and textiles are present through each room which are further adorned by an extensive collection of fine art. Refurbished church pews, oak barrister bookcases as well as antique dining tables and desks, sourced from the greater Philadelphia region, fill the interior.

CRAFTING COMMUNITY

The designers worked collaboratively with the University representatives to create spaces that foster community.

Faculty offices were placed on the first and third floors allowing instructors to walk through student areas on the way to their office. The faculty and student common rooms are also intentionally placed side by side centrally on the second floor. This deliberate placement also encourages student and faculty interaction.

Additional informal gathering spaces are located near the seminar rooms and faculty offices, again enabling spontaneous conversation between those wandering through the building. A central courtyard and several outdoor patio areas offer students and faculty spaces to enjoy the outdoors.

Specialized Spaces

The three seminar rooms in Templeton Hall are furnished with a central wooden table. The tables are large enough for students and instructors to be seated in the round which complements the Honors College conversational pedagogy.

Clemens Hall, a 150-seat recital and lecture space, was a new addition to the building. It was designed to accommodate both recitals as well as lectures. This space will host Templeton’s Honors Forums, Matriculation Service, Film Series, and Speaker Series, as well as the Music Department’s choir, orchestra, and ensemble rehearsals and performances.

Another newly created space is the Merriman Family Art Gallery. This 740 SF gallery is part of Eastern University’s vision for Templeton Hall to become a space for learning as well as a place to cultivate beauty and contemplation.