US architecture studio GBBN preserved and expanded a 19th-century home in Erie, Pennsylvania into an educational facility with a glass bridge connection and metal-clad, barn-like structure.
Completed in April 2022 for Pennsylvania State University Behrend, the Federal House Renovation & Addition project saw the conversion of the oldest brick building in the Harborcreek Township into a modern educational facility.
GBBN preserved and expanded a 19th-century house into an educational facility
Originally built in 1883 by cobbler Thomas Bonnell, the two-storey structure housed his 11-person family, served as a stagecoach stop and was later used as a safe house on the Underground Railroad.
The renovation and expansion by GBBN Pittsburgh preserved the original house and added a contemporary barn-shaped structure that mitigates the steep site. A glass bridge is included in the design
The 11,000-square-foot (1,021 square metre) building was completed for the Susan Hirt Hagen Center for Community Outreach, Research, and Evaluation (CORE), an outreach effort of Pennsylvania State University Behrend's School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
The addition includes offices, classrooms and conference and event space for the program.
The barn form was modernized with the use of a standing seam infinity roof
"What was once an unused, stand-alone structure on campus has become a place ? a unique destination sought out by Penn State Behrend students and administrators," said...