RLPS 70th Anniversary

March 1, 2024

How can it be 70 years already?  Those of us at RLPS today are so grateful for the vision, integrity and dedication of those who started the firm in 1954 and the many leaders and team members who kept our firm growing and thriving through 7 decades!

And of course we wouldn’t be here without our clients. Thanks to our clients we have the opportunity to flex our creative muscles and design spaces that positively impact people’s lives – whether students, senior living residents, staff members, community members, visitors or guests.  It makes what we do meaningful and worthwhile.

A Snapshot Through the Decades

1950’s & 60’s

In 1954, Monroe S. Haak and S. Dale Kaufman founded RLPS as Haak and Kaufman in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. The two met in the early 50’s as collaborating architects for an elementary school in Lampeter, Pennsylvania.

In its early years, the firm developed a niche working with local churches. The First Reformed Church, constructed in 1955, was one of the first commissions, with many more places of worship for varying denominations in the following decades. These early experiences led to our firm’s sustained focus on mission-driven senior living, community organizations and public and private educational institutions.

The Mt. Joy Presbyterian Home is the first known senior care commission in 1957, with several others in the late 50’s that were some of the earliest Presbyterian Senior Living communities. Also in the late 50’s and early 60’s the firm designed education buildings for churches, as well as faith-based private schools.  In 1965, Haak & Kaufman opened a second office in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Fun Facts: 

  • Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum building, opened for business in 1959.
  • The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, designed by Louis I. Kahn, opened its doors in 1963.
  • The average price for a gallon of gas in 1954 was 29 cents.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower was President of the United States when the firm opened its doors in 1954.

1970’s 

James (Jim) D. Reese joined the firm in 1970 and became a Partner in 1971. The firm name became Haak, Kaufman, Reese & Beers in 1972 and shortly thereafter both of its founders, Monroe Haak and Dale Kaufman, passed away in 1974 and 1977 respectively. By 1975, all operations were moved to Lancaster and the firm expanded to a new location on North Lime Street in downtown Lancaster.

The firm’s first public school client was the Penn Manor School District when our predecessors conducted a feasibility study for Hambright Elementary School in 1970. This was followed in 1971 with the firm’s first higher education commission for what is now Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology In addition to ongoing church commissions, the firm’s work with senior living communities steadily increased throughout the decade.

Fun Facts: 

  • In 1970, the North Tower of the World Trade Center topped out at 1,368 feet, making it the tallest building in the world.
  • In 1974, the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) opened in Chicago as the world’s tallest building for nearly 25 years.
  • In 1970, the average cost of a gallon of gas was 36 cents.
  • Richard M. Nixon was President of the United States in 1970.

1980’s 

In 1982, Robert (Bob) Beers resigned to start his own architectural firm. That same year, George Lower, Robert (Bob) Patrick, Gregory (Gregg) Scott became partners and the firm name changed to Reese, Lower, Patrick & Scott, Ltd.  The firm’s new logo highlighted the letters RLPS.

In 1988, RLPS rolled out the very first gingerbread display at its annual client holiday event. What started as a simple idea to build a few gingerbread houses evolved into a 30-year tradition of intricate edible architecture that continued through 2019.

The firm designed a larger office building which opened in 1987. The new building included an open studio with oversized windows for lots of natural light.

During this decade, RLPS also completed a number of new construction and renovation projects for organizations that remain our clients today.  These include Homestead Village, Franklin & Marshall College, Mennonite Home Communities, Moravian Manor, Presbyterian Senior Living and the Warwick School District.

Fun Facts: 

  • In 1981, groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for PPG Place, designed by internationally renowned architect Philip Johnson with John Burgee Architects.
  • Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was designed by E. Fay Jones and constructed in 1980. It features over 6,000 square feet of glass.
  • In 1980, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $1.19.
  • Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States on November 4, 1980.

1990’s 

In 1993, RLPS designed the Essa Flory Inpatient Hospice Care Center, the first of its kind in Pennsylvania.  The project earned top honors from the Center for Health Design, Contemporary Long Term Care magazine and the AIA Design for Aging Review.

By this decade, the firm’s work extended well beyond its Pennsylvania origins for commissions in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia.  In 1996, RLPS had the opportunity to design one of the first University-Based Retirement Communities, The Village at Penn State, as well as two other brand new CCRC’s (now called Life Plan Communities) – Montereau in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Cypress Cove in Ft. Myers, Florida.

In 1994, the firm began its ongoing tradition of kicking off summer with an Egg Drop competition. Since that time RLPSers have catapulted, launched and dropped eggs in various creative contraptions toward a target.

RLPS designed multiple student housing projects for York College of Pennsylvania and Franklin & Marshall College during this decade.

The firm was also busy with a range of renovations, additions and new buildings for K-12 sector clients including Warwick, Manheim Township, Pequea Valley, Eastern Lancaster County, Unionville-Chadds Ford and Northern Lebanon school districts.

Fun Facts:

2000’s 

In 2001, the firm’s design for the Village at Waveny Care Center, a groundbreaking memory care facility in New Canaan, Connecticut, received numerous acccolades and was featured in the New York Times, on CNN and CBS. Modeled after downtown New Canaan, Waveny’s interior Main Street was flanked by one and two-story brick facades that house a beauty/barber shop, bakery, ice cream parlor, general store and dining piazza.

In 2004, a personal care residence at Pennswood Village in Newtown, Pennsylvania was the first RLPS project to earn LEED Gold Certification.  The new Lingle Avenue Elementary School and district-wide Kindergarten center for Palmyra Area School District followed, earning LEED Silver.

In 2008, RLPS participated in the Green House Design Charrette sponsored by the IDEAS Institute.  The firm earned a first place award for its design concept separating the functions of the house into public, private and support zones and a courtyard shared between four houses so residents are not isolated to a single home.

The new Waldner Performing Arts Center at York College of Pennsylvania, featuring a 750-seat theater with stage and full fly loft, was completed in 2008. It was constructed as an addition to a former gymnasium and natatorium that RLPS converted into a new Humanities Center. The firm also continued to design multiple student housing projects.  York College’s Little Run Lodge was the largest, with dining and gathering spaces for 1000+ students.

During an economic downturn in 2007, RLPS developed the Hybrid Homes concept for Landis Communities. This new senior housing model quickly became a creative solution for Life Plan Communities around the country to incrementally expand with a higher density footprint (than stand-alone cottages) that appeals to consumers and allows for more flexible financing options.

Fun Facts: 

  • The Walt Disney Concert Hall, designed by well-known architect Frank Gehry, opened in November 2003
  • The city landmark at 30 St Mary Axe in London’s financial district, commonly called The Gherkin, completed in December 2003.
  • In 2000, the average cost of a gallon of gas was $1.51.
  • William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton was President of the United States.

2010’s to today

In 2013, RLPS moved to its current office location at 250 Valleybrook Drive.  Designed to LEED silver standards, the firm’s commitment to biophilic design principles is evident with walls of windows, a center courtyard space and three-quarters of the 40-acre property remaining open habitat.

In 2016, Phase 1 redevelopment of Rose Villa in Portland, Oregon earned top honors from both the Environments for Aging Design Showcase and AIA Design for Aging Review.  The neotraditional community concept introduced “over-under” pocket neighborhoods stepping up the hillside to a new main street with intergenerational amenities and loft apartments.

The firm’s Pittsburgh location ramped up as a full service office in 2023 to serve clients in the region and throughout the country.  This urban complement to our firm culture reflects the region’s balance between world class innovation and small-town roots.

CollegeTowne, a transformative project designed to foster connections between Alvernia University and the city of Reading, Pennsylvania opened in 2021. The project converted an office building into a 260,000 SF mixed-used resource with a business trading lab, classrooms, esports center, student housing, a new engineering program, and a business incubator.

The firm also designed transformation of a 1930’s-era former Cadillac dealership in downtown York, Pennsylvania into an expansion for the Logos Academy to accommodate high school students. This project earned AIA Central PA Design Excellence Award of Merit and Good Design is Good Business Awards.

Fun Facts: 

  • Most Gen Z’ers, the generation currently entering the workforce, will have never used floppy disks, VHS tapes, dial-up modems or camera film.
  • They won’t know what it means to “burn a CD”
  • They never knew a world without Google.