Projects
Dickinson College – Drayer Hall Residence Hall Updates
Drayer Hall, a student residence on Dickinson College’s campus, was in need of updates to provide modern amenities and enhanced accessibility to current and future students. The historic residence hall was originally built in the 1950s and features a stone façade similar to many of the buildings on campus.
Retaining A Piece of History
The project team kept the façade intact while making numerous interior and systems renovations to the 38,000 SF, four-story residence hall. The design team provided 3D digital scanning and point cloud modelling to accurately capture line of sight existing conditions of this older structure.
Building system upgrades included HVAC system replacement, enhanced fire protection system, updated lighting and telecom systems. Along with interior renovations and renewal, exterior improvements were completed on the building. These updates included a new roof membrane, a utility upgrade, betterments to foundation drainage and water protection.
Interior Updates Enhance Overall Accessibility
Interior renovations to the living areas provide two apartments for resident assistants and 163 student beds that include a variety of singles, doubles, and triples. In addition, the updates provided new kitchens on each floor for student use along with finish upgrades in the student lounges and elevator lobbies. Laundry facilities have been consolidated into one central accessible laundry on the ground floor.
To improve accessibility throughout the historic building, ramps were introduced into the students’ common spaces and lounges. A custom elevator upgrade in an existing shaft provides access to the upper levels of the residence hall. Each floor has inclusive bathrooms as well as communal bathrooms with private toilet/shower compartments. The interior finish updates were designed in accordance with Dickinson’s finish standards and focused on eco-friendly products and materials.
Broadmead
Cockeysville, MD
This project began with a master planning exercise to revitalize the existing campus. Phased senior living renovations and new construction resulted in new independent living, right-sized healthcare, and updated amenities.
Hillside Homes
Two new four-story hybrid home apartment buildings were added adjacent to the commons building. Each includes 52 residences as well as under-
building parking. These homes incorporate features such as plenty of daylight, extensive views in multiple directions, outdoor living for each residence, and communal gathering spaces in each building. Broadmead also connected the two hybrid homes to the commons building providing covered pedestrian access to amenities no matter the weather.
Community Center Renovations
Broadmead’s community center serves as the center of campus activities. These senior living renovations updated and expanded this amenity space to include a café, multi-purpose room, library, wellness center, and resident activity spaces including a new indoor pool. Outside, a new covered entry was added as well as an electric vehicle charging station.
Right-sized Healthcare
Multi-phased updates renovated skilled care to create neighborhoods and added a new state-of-the-art short-term rehab wing. The new households reinforce person-centered care with the addition of communal living and dining spaces being shared by an intentionally smaller group of residents. Additionally, showers were added to personal bathrooms allowing residents the dignity of private in-room bathing.
Independent living apartments were converted to assisted living memory care and new skilled care memory care residences were added. Broadmead worked with John Hopkins University physicians and scientists early in the development process to design and then implement their Center of Excellence in Dementia Care which focuses on person-centered care.
Photo credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Phoebe Berks – Grant Harrity Community Center
Wernersville, PA
What began as a master planning project has resulted in the reinvention of the community center at Phoebe Berks. The new distinguished, yet down to earth atmosphere reflects their holistic wellness program.
Mind Body Spirit Food
The Mind Body Spirit Food wellness lifestyle program supports Phoebe’s holistic view integrating the “whole person” into everything they do. This encourages residents to look at their futures with eagerness by providing the tools and person-specific life-enrichment plans for each resident. Fitness spaces, multi-purpose space with stage, theater, library, and multiple dining venues are specifically designed and programmed to support this lifestyle initiative.
Reorganized Spaces
The reimagined community center includes a comfortable open seating area inside the front door that features a coffee shop with grab-and-go snacks and light meals adjacent to the library with a variety of seating for the ultimate coffee shop experience. This lobby space was formerly dominated by a large “command station” desk with a dining space behind gates.
The former main dining room has become a variety of complementary venues including the casual Bistro 422 featuring a pizza oven and plenty of seating for family and friends. The new outdoor dining patio is popular in temperate weather while the Belle Alto formal dining is available for more traditional served meals. The all-new pub is an active pre-dinner space connected to the bistro and adjacent to the popular game room.
Flexible Spaces
The reorganization of space allows one kitchen to serve multiple venues. This adjacency also allows for flexible, gently screened dining spaces that can adjust as needed.
Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Kirkland Village – Marketplace Renovations
Bethlehem, PA
Updates to reconfigure and refresh the former café created a vibrant, contemporary dining venue to better serve residents, staff and guests. The “inside-the-box” marketplace renovations opened up and reprogramed the various spaces comprising this casual dining venue.
We began at the front door, shifting the gated portion of the entrance forward so that the new bakery/coffee shop and grab ‘n go store can be accessed even when other marketplace venues are closed. New slatted wood barn doors and interior windows enable residents to have a view into the main bistro and display kitchen preparation areas.
Varied and Intimate Venues
The bakery display is the highlight of the new coffee shop which features the community’s popular pastry chef’s creations. The adjacent Corner Shoppe provides a new grab ‘n go option for between meals and as an alternative to the communal dining options.
The staff corner was an important addition to provide staff members with the option of a relaxed place of respite while enjoying marketplace items. This space also includes a hospitality station with coffee and other beverages as a staff member perk.
A Fresh Approach to Culinary Preparation, Nutrition and Flavor Diversity
The design team collaborated with community leadership and culinary staff members to help define functional goals and prioritize design features. We started by meeting with the kitchen staff to observe how they worked and how the spaces and equipment functioned during mealtimes. Much of the cooking equipment was replaced and upgraded to accommodate more variety, diverse dietary preferences and fresh, made-to-order selections. The new equipment introduced contemporary technology innovations so that much of the food is now presented in an attractive, open-kitchen display format. One of the highlights is a hearth oven introduced at the center of the marketplace.
French Bistro Design Inspiration
The design inspiration for a distinctive atmosphere that reflects a new attitude toward the casual dining experiences. was a Parisian café/bistro. Resident representatives had the opportunity to review finish options and provided input regarding final selections. Bold emerald green wainscot and statement artwork draw eyes into the main dining space. White shiplap on the opposite face and floor-to-ceiling windows on the adjacent wall keep the space bright and airy while providing visual interest and texture.
Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic
Lancaster, PA
The Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic was established in 1938. It is the oldest clinic in the world devoted to the comprehensive care of children born with cleft lips and palate and other craniofacial anomalies regardless of their ability to pay. The clinic was founded by Lancaster orthodontist Dr. Herbert K. Cooper on the first floor of his home. Today, it is one of three clinics in Pennsylvania that offer all aspects of cleft treatment.
Located at 223 N. Lime Street since the mid-1980s, the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic at the Sam and Dena Lombardo Health Pavilion has undergone $3.2 million of interior and exterior renovations. The extensive renovations doubled the number of patient treatment spaces reducing wait times for appointments.
Revitalizing an Old Space for its Young Patients
Complete interior design services for this 60+ year-old building included assisting with the selection of interior and exterior building finishes, as well as coordinating paint, flooring, and lighting selections with the contractor. RLPS Interior Designers also provided furniture selections and fabrics and supported delivery and installation.
Along with a two-story daylit atrium, a KidsZone was added to the waiting room area. The KidsZone features a playhouse, toys, appropriately sized seating and a colorful mural. Acoustic panel “clouds” suspended from the ceiling in that area add visual interest as well as reduce noise.
RLPS coordinated donations throughout the office; this included contributions towards flooring, ceilings, and countertops. Multiple donor walls have also been designed and are awaiting installation.
Creating Harmonious Work and Treatment Spaces
Cool, calming colors were used throughout the building, based upon the recommendations of a Feng Shui consultant. Nature-themed photographs taken by local photographers and selected by the owner are hung throughout the office and help bring a sense of tranquility into the space. In the lower level, the staff lounge received an update of new soft seating. Sit-to-stand desks were also provided for staff.
Sound-reducing doors and walls installed in each private room help deafen noise. Inside the patient rooms, television monitors installed on the ceiling allow patients to watch their favorite shows to help them relax during treatment.
Knowledge Park – York College of Pennsylvania
York, PA
Renovating a former mill and warehouse into a Campus Resource for Academic, Business, and Community Partnerships
Master planning was the first step to convert a 200-year-old former paper mill into Knowledge Park, a Project Based Learning (PBL) resource for local businesses, students and faculty members. This business incubator and innovation hub will provide multiple benefits:
- Repurpose and beautify the previously blighted 40-acre property
- Enhance the student experience through Project Based Learning opportunities
- Attract commercial tenants to a key corridor that connects the college campus to the surrounding downtown.
Knowledge Park to be a Shared Resource for Project-Based Learning
The 101,599 square foot warehouse structure will include small classrooms or conference rooms, a large seminar room and student study and collaboration spaces. Private industry and public sector partners will lease offices and shell spaces to be fit out for their specific needs.
Knowledge Park is designed to offer real-world experience for students studying in multiple disciplines, from engineering and computer science to the liberal arts. The defined-use spaces will be complemented by shared amenities spread across three floors. These resources include lounges, huddle rooms, collaboration zones and break room. Community event spaces for special programs and activities will reinforce the spirit of collaboration between students, faculty, and private/public partners.
Business partners foster the critical linkages within the Graham Center for Collaborative Innovation. These strategic partnerships facilitate active Project-Based Learning, collaborative research with a faculty member and/or student and student co-op/internship opportunities or part-time work.
Architectural Design Strategy to Create a Knowledge Park
The architectural language borrows heavily from York’s deep industrial history and wealth of factory building stock. Modern elements pair with the industrial aesthetic to announce the forward-thinking focus of this contemporary learning center. A dramatic 3-story design gesture at the new west entry serves as a beacon that is visible from the main campus and west campus axis.
The original factory site plan was informed by the edges of Tyler Run and Codorus Creeks which historically provided power to the facilities. The northern and western edges continue to be defined by the creeks, but open green spaces along the property edge will now allow for interaction with the waterways.
Integration of Historic Property into Knowledge Park Complex
The historic Mill House (Philip King House), physically connected to the manufacturing complex, will be converted to office spaces for the College and collaborative conference rooms for shared use with tenants. The design team was deliberate about preserving the story of the factory by identifying artifacts and icons that continue the narrative.
Interior and exterior features will be repaired and upgraded to serve the complex while maintaining the historic character. The use of thin, glassy and lightly structured connections between the Philp King House and the mill preserves the identity of both structures while providing needed access and connectivity.
The West End Warehouse will offer a dramatic entrance to the complex by introducing natural light, high ceilings, large multi-use spaces and vertical building circulation. Kings Mill Warehouse will serve as the interior crossroads of the complex with huddle rooms and a grand stair open to multiple stories and skylights above.
Assisting with Innovative Funding Sources
York College purchased the site more than a decade ago and has maintained it since then, waiting for an appropriate use. A $6 million Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant paved the way for development of this property, expanding the College’s North Campus.
A series of focus groups, followed by a design charrette and concept review meetings assembled feedback from multiple stakeholder groups to quickly come to a design consensus for an innovative, Project-Based Learning resource. This enabled the first phase of redevelopment to move forward within a tight timeframe required for the RACP funding mechanism.
“This project will be a true college/community partnership that helps improve the City and our campus while serving to create high-skill/high-wage employment opportunities for our students and alumni.”
Pamela Gunter-Smith, President, York College of Pennsylvania
McCormick Library Update – HACC
Harrisburg, PA
As part of the campus learning commons, McCormick Library is a vital resource that has continued to evolve and adapt to changing priorities. This library update project was the design result of fewer bookshelves and more digital reference materials and technology resources for hands-on learning and collaboration opportunities.
HACC recently halved its physical collection of books and periodicals paving the way for relocating the Campus Tutoring Center into the library. The next step was updating the interior environment. Reworking the overall space layout allowed for comfortable coexistence of quiet, private study areas and group collaboration spaces. This involved adding individual study zones and group project meeting rooms, as well as integrating flexible technology accommodations in all areas. The library updates also reinforced HACC branding, referencing campus standards for both colors and maintenance preferences.
Library Updates to Enhance Learning Commons / Group Study Opportunities
Collaboration cubes and soft seating options were introduced to accommodate varied student needs. Two new group study rooms were added in the center of the second floor. This helped to define and separate the different tutoring and learning commons areas arranged around them. The group study rooms have solid end walls and semi-transparent side walls with sliding glass doors on one side.
Flexible furniture systems, including mobile whiteboards and modular workstations, were a priority. Replacement carpeting extended under the existing stacks to allow for future rearrangement or further reduction of physical materials. Booth-style seating and both high-top and low tables accommodate different student preferences and uses. The finish upgrades also addressed the need for enhanced sound absorption, particularly with the inclusion of open tutoring areas. New acoustical panels meet this functional requirement while adding visual appeal by extending color and texture to the walls.
Quiet Spaces Still Needed as Part of Library Update
Students highly valued the second floor of McCormick Library as the only space on campus designated as quiet study space. Due to appealing views at the front of the building, students tended to gravitate to furniture near the wall of windows on that side of the building for quiet reading and study.
The design reinforces this area as the quiet study space on the floor. The renovation introduced a new solid glass partition to create a designated quiet area that is acoustically separated from other spaces, particularly the collaboration zones on the floor. The glass wall allows light to flow through into other areas while providing views into the space inviting student use. Rather than seating groups, the quiet room has individual seating with options for enhanced visual privacy. Solo seating with a privacy wing is meant to be oriented so that the privacy wing faces the interior. Acoustical wall panels were also added in this area to maintain a quiet and comfortable learning commons option.
Masonic Village – Freemasons Building
Elizabethtown, PA
The goal for this update project was to create an assisted living / personal care residence that looks like any other apartment building rather than a senior care facility. We took our cues from hospitality venues for gracious, contemporary spaces that emphasize color, texture and variety for inviting, visually appealing spaces. Renovations to this occupied building encompassed updates to the lobby, corridors, dining and activity areas as well as individual living spaces, bathrooms and kitchens.
Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Masonic Village – Clinics Building
Elizabethtown, PA
Renovations to this 21,942 square feet, three-story, fully-occupied and operational healthcare building encompassed upgrades to waiting areas, corridors, evaluation rooms, administrative areas and therapy spaces with accommodations for bariatric patients. We utilized nature-inspired finishes and artwork along with bright pops of contemporary color to create a comfortable, healing environment.
Photo Credit: Nathan Cox Photography
Chestnut Ridge at Rodale – Sales Office & Model Apartment
Emmaus, PA
A new active adult satellite community will evolve in phases, beginning with adaptive reuse of the former Rodale publishing company offices into apartments. The property is currently in the development phase so the sale office and model apartment are critical tools to help achieve the owner’s vision for a new residential community that embraces Rodale values of melding fitness, organic dining and wellness
Welcome Center Sales Office
An adjacent garage building, previously used by Rodale as a farmer’s co-op, has been converted into the welcome center and sales office. The interior design of the welcome center maintains the existing building’s industrial aesthetic complementing the contemporary agrarian theme planned for the new community. Hospitality and technology are comfortably integrated to provide an appealing experience. Interactive touch-screens are combined with artfully arranged presentation visuals to help prospective residents explore floor plans, finish options and community amenities. The space is designed for flexibility to accommodate individual visits as well as special events hosting larger groups.
Model Apartment
A former Rodale warehouse now houses the full size mock-up of a model apartment. The model apartment helps visitors envision the scale, finishes and layout of a typical residence in the satellite community under construction. This mock-up space was staged to show a functional and attractive furniture layout for the apartment model floor plan, with accessories added to for the visual appeal of a comfortable, contemporary home.