EwingCole designed an adaptive reuse and renovation project for Susquehanna Art Museum that transformed Keystone Trust Co.’s former bank building, circa 1924, into an entryway that connects to a 2,000-square-foot, two-story addition. The addition features a metal-and-glass façade to complement the color and proportion of the existing building and provide a civic scale to the block.
Don Jones, FAIA, LEED BD+C, principal and director of sustainable design at EwingCole, says his firm wanted the bank building to be the focus of the exterior. “Accordingly, the addition has a neutral color palette and complements the neoclassical bank building with a sleek, contemporary aesthetic,” he says. “We used robust, straightforward materials for the exterior, combining them in an extraordinary way.”
The metal wall panels have concealed clips and fasteners that eliminate breaks in the exterior and create a smooth appearance. Windows, louvers and sunshades can be added without compromising exterior aesthetics.
Jones says the metal wall panels were selected for their simplicity. “Using a row of single, vertical panels with integral insulation, we created a two-story, R-20 wall,” he says.
Hershocks Inc. installed 2,310 square feet of CENTRIA’s 22/26-gauge Versawall insulated metal panels in Light Seawolf with a Fluorofinish coating and embossed finish; 1,971 square feet of CENTRIA’s 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 3-inch T vertical in Champagne Bronze in a Sundance Mica coating and embossed finish; and 1,276 square feet of CENTRIA’s 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 3-inch T in Limestone with a Fluorofinish coating and embossed finish for the project. Additionally, it installed 614 square feet of CENTRIA’s 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 3-inch T in Light Seawolf with a Fluorofinish coating and embossed finish and 362 square feet of CENTRIA’s 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 2-inch vertical in Light Seawolf with a Fluorofinish coating and embossed finish.
The museum was constructed to American Alliance of Museums’ standards, which allow the museum to borrow nationally significant exhibitions and artwork. The addition provides space for events, a traveling gallery, education center, staff offices and an area for loading and receiving art. The $7 million, 18,500-square-foot project was completed in 2015.
Owner: Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg
General contractor: JEM Group LLC, Harrisburg
Architect: EwingCole, Philadelphia
Installer: Hershocks Inc., Harrisburg
Metal wall panels: CENTRIA, Moon Township, Pa., www.centriaperformance.com
Photo: Alex Denmarsh/Chris Knight, The Patriot News
