Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building
Philadelphia
Dagit • Saylor Architects

Old foes become best of friends

© Tom Crane Photography

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When it was completed in 1916 as a showroom and storage facility for the Gomery-Schwartz Motor Car Company, the Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building—as it is now called—prompted dire predictions about its impact on the nearby Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The academy, which occupies a far smaller Beaux-Arts building by Furness & Hewitt, was dwarfed by its hulking new 11-story neighbor. But time can reconcile old enemies. Some 90 years later, the academy has since acquired its neighbor—thanks to the generosity of namesake Samuel Hamilton—and located part of its art collection there as well as student studios. The academy is even considering an underground concourse to link the two buildings, a sort of channel underneath Philadelphia's Cherry Street.

After acquiring the Hamilton Building in the late 1990s, the academy commissioned Dagit • Saylor to design its adaptive reuse. Over the years since its initial incarnation as an automobile facility, the Hamilton's interior floors had been significantly altered to accommodate standard offices. The architects stripped away these accreted insertions. After gaining approval from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, they also demolished a mezzanine level above the first floor in order to gain higher ceiling height and open the overall floor plan. They then filled this vast space with a new lobby, gift shop, galleries, café, and an entrance for the student studios. Over-sized windows, restored to historically accurate specifications, create a “billboard” effect that displays the art within.

A grand stair links the ground floor to a second level of galleries. The appearance of this stair intentionally echoes a similar one in the nearby Furness & Hewitt building. On the Hamilton's remaining upper floors, the architects returned the space to its original loft-like character by exposing ductwork in the ceiling, mushroom-shaped columns, and concrete floor slabs. This openness allows light to penetrate deeply through the floor plate. On the top floor, a penthouse and terrace provide space for painting or socializing set against spectacular city views. By acquiring this 300,000-square-foot building, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts has been able to unite its faculty, students, and curators in one location—with room yet to grow.

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Formal name of Project:
Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building

Location:
Philadelphia

Gross square footage:
300,000 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$40 million

Owner:
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
www.pafa.org

Architect:
Dagit • Saylor Architects
100 South Broad Street
1100 Land Title Building
Philadelphia, PA 19110
215-972-0500 tel.
215-972-8060 fax
www.dagitsaylor.com