Archer & Buchanan college building receives prestigious Palladio Award
Rathburn Hall at Grove City College awarded
By Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd.
Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd., an institutional and residential firm based in West Chester, is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a 2014 Palladio Award in the category of New Design and Construction for its design of Rathburn Hall at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania. The judging was held earlier this month in Washington, DC, and the project will be featured in the June issue of Traditional Building magazine. This marks the third time the firm has won the prestigious award.
“It is always gratifying to learn our firm has won such an esteemed national award; it is a team effort and it always takes a client with high expectations for quality and a long range vision for the institution,” said Daniel Russoniello AIA, LEED AP, Principal of Archer & Buchanan. “Grove City College is that kind of client.”
The 16,500-sf building of sandstone and limestone serves as a central facility for spiritual life on campus, containing a large Fellowship Hall, Board Room, seminar rooms, and administrative offices for the Dean of the Chapel and the 23 student-run ministries. Designed to complement the Collegiate Gothic style of Grove City College buildings, the two-story facility allows the College to expand institutional outreach, spiritual fellowship and to host conferences, forums and summer retreats.
“The building is located to the north of the beautiful 1929 Harbison Chapel,” said Russoniello, “forming a new lawn, bordered by a dense woods, Wolf Creek and the nearby campus landmark, Rainbow Bridge. This lawn provides a quiet contemplative area away from the busy central campus green. The site is truly inspirational.”
Rathburn Hall and the adjacent 1929 Harbison Chapel are the center of the College’s 150-acre landscaped campus, which was started in 1876 and later formally planned by the Olmsted Brothers, sons and successors to Frederick Law Olmsted. The College has remained true to Olmsted’s design and the new building respects the original plan.
In addition to Archer & Buchanan, the building team consisted of The Kachele Group structural engineers; Allen & Shariff mechanical / electrical engineers; and Wallace Builders General Contractors.
The national Palladio Awards Program is designed to honor outstanding achievement in traditional design. The program recognizes individual designers, design teams, or both whose work enhances the beauty and humane qualities of the built environment through creative interpretation or adaption of design principles developed through 2,500 years of the Western architectural tradition. This year’s award marks Archer & Buchanan’s first win in the Commercial, Institutional, and Public Projects category.
Founded in 1876, Grove City College is an independent private Christian college of liberal arts and sciences, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, sciences, engineering and music, with 55 majors and six pre-professional programs. A coeducational college, Grove City College has approximately 2,500 students currently enrolled. Although loosely affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, the College enrolls students interested in integrating faith and learning within an evangelical and reformed environment. Grove City College is located about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh in Grove City, Pennsylvania.
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Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd. is an award-winning architecture firm known for timeless design, attention to detail and exquisite craftsmanship.
