The "Architectural Award Given To Franklin & Marshall College" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Standing in front of the Winter Visual Arts Center on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  I had recently made a visit to the campus to take a photo of the Abraham de Peyster statue that sits along the edge of the campus for another story I was writing.  It was during that visit that I noticed the Winter Center

Artist's rendition of the Arts Center.

for the first time.  A very impressive building that looks very much out of place on a campus that was founded in 1787, at the birth of a new republic.  But, it seems to have greatly impressed someone, since the building has just won the ENR MidAtlantic's best project for Higher Education/Research and was recently one of three finalists out of about 100 submitted projects for the organization's project of the year.  

Metal sculpture stands in front of the Center.

ENR MidAtlantic is the regional publication of Engineeering News-Record, which covers engineering and construction news across the mid-Atlantic states. Franklin & Marshall College recently received the award in a virtual program on October 19, 2020.  The Visual Arts Center opened in August and features geothermal heating and cooling which transfers heat to or from the ground.  The building is designed to mimic and fit within the many 100 year-old nearby trees that outline the F&M campus.  The foundation walls are designed to look like tree roots and trunks, and the upper floors are suspended, reaching outward like the branches of the nearby trees.  

Daylight view of the new center.

There are four levels to the building, with about 70% or it being glass.  The 7,800 square feet teaching building has studios as well as galleries.  The Phillips Museum of Art manages the gallery and an 84-seat cinema within the building.  Total cost for the project was about $23.1 million and was constructed by Harrisburg based Poole Anderson.  

The Center's main contributor's are displayed.

In order to make room for the building, the previous art building, The Herman Arts building, was demolished.  I enjoyed walking around the new Center, snapping photographs to share while a nearby church was holding an outdoor church service nearby.  The organ music seemed to bounce off of the many concrete corners of the building, echoing the hymns as the congregants sang along.  Neat way to enjoy taking photographs.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.