Strategically situated at the prominent intersection of Main Street and College Drive in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, the Schellhase Commons (the Commons) marks the entrance to the Ursinus College campus. The 17,305 SF addition and renovation to the existing Keigwin Hall, a historic brick farmhouse, provides the private liberal arts college’s 170-acre campus and 1,500 students with a Café, Bookstore, multi-purpose pavilion, and administrative offices. Campus tours both begin and conclude at this node of activity, emphasized by a spectacular view of the emblematic Bomberger Memorial Hall, a turn-of-the-century Romanesque structure with its iconic red steeple built of Pennsylvania blue marble.
PROJECT TEAM
Engineer - Structural
Baker, Ingram & Associates
Engineer - MEP
Urban Technology, Inc.
Construction Manager
Bancroft Construction Company
Lighting Consultant
Diversified Lighting
Engineer - Civil
Woodrow Associates
Interior Designer
Bernardon
Schellhase Commons at Ursinus College
Category
2020 Architectural Excellence DESIGN AWARDS > Architecture
Description
FIRM
Bernardon
PROJECT LOCATION
Collegeville, Pennsylvania
LOCAL AIA CHAPTER
AIA Philadelphia
IMAGE CAPTION & CREDITS
Image 1 // Composed of four distinct pavilions surrounding a courtyard, the courtyard is the hub of the building and of campus activity, guarded by a sculpture of the campus mascot, the Bear. (Photo Credit: Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.)
Image 2 // Fronting Main Street, the Café spills out onto stepping deck terraces, highlighting the vitality of the student body to the Borough and welcoming the community into campus. (Photo Credit: Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.)
Image 3 // In a more formal setting, an outdoor terrace extending from the Student Interactive Space fronts The Plaza along College Drive. Views of the Campus Green and Bomberger Memorial Hall just beyond offer a reminder of the rich, long-standing history of Ursinus College, seen and felt from an entirely new vantage point. (Photo Credit: Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.)
Image 4 // Adaptive reuse of Keigwin Hall extends the warmth and tactile materiality of the structure through the presence of its soft, red-pink brick. Large openings cut through the Hall’s former exterior quite literally provide a connection from the College’s past to its present as these openings have been transformed into doorways from the seating area to the Café counter. As students, staff, and visitors move through the monolithic wall openings, they gain new perspective on the old building. (Photo Credit: Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.)