Landscape Architect Articles

Making the Grade: Alvernia University's Francis Hall Expansion Earns High Marks02-01-12 | News

Making the Grade:
Alvernia University?EUR??,,????'???s Francis Hall Expansion Earns High Marks

Landscape Architecture by Derck & Edson Associates

BEFORE & AFTER: The new plaza creates an impressive new entry for Francis Hall (the venerable ?EUR??,,????'??old Main?EUR??,,????'??) at the Alvernia University campus in Reading, Penn. Seat walls, steps, a central fountain and comfortable furnishings define the plaza. Foster holly, dwarf burning bush, green sheen Japanese spurge and Shenandoah switch grass soften the space.

The roots of Alvernia University trace back to 1926 when the Bernardine Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis established a Teacher?EUR??,,????'???s Seminarium in Reading, Pennsylvania to educate the Sisters. Just to put that year in a U.S. historical perspective, in July 1926 Fox Film bought the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film, and in September of that year, Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey for the heavyweight crown.

The center fountain is the aesthetic focal point of the lower plaza, plus the key drainage point. The 10-ft. diameter decorative and flush circular architectural fountain grate is a nickel bronze in 12 pieces. The grate?EUR??,,????'???s inner ring drains the fountain water; the outer ring handles site runoff. Drainage for both rings is under the decorative fountain grate.

The original building, what is now called Francis Hall and the center of our story, is the most historic building on the Alvernia University campus. It began being built in 1920 and opened its doors in 1926. The four-story structure of Pueblo red brick built in the California Mission style started life as an orphanage and an educational facility for young women. It was the only building on the Alvernia campus for its first eight years. The venerable ?EUR??,,????'??old Main, ?EUR??,,????'?? as it is called, has served multiple purposes throughout the decades, most recently as a mixed-use building housing classrooms, arts, administration, theatre and residential areas.

As part of new master planning for the Alvernia campus, an overall vision was created for a high-impact, dramatic sense of arrival to replace the overgrown evergreen trees and parking lots that dominated the campus side of Francis Hall. Phase 1 of the plan for the new arrival sequence required changes to Francis Hall that included a new 640 square foot addition to accommodate an art gallery, a multistory renovation of the historic structure and exterior improvements.

The amphitheatre is designed to accommodate over 300 people. There is a 10-foot grade change from the top of the slope to the plaza level. The ADA ramp (left) is bounded by Otto Luyken cherry laurel and grassy amphitheatre sections that step down into the lower plaza. The center hand rail (right) is LED lit (IO Lighting/Cooper Lighting).

The new structural addition created a remaining site with a 10-foot grade change from the top of the slope to the planned plaza level. Within this space, the university wanted a gathering space that would be used on a daily basis by students, but also for outdoor performances, events and for overflow crowds for indoor events.

Amphitheatre seating provides the desired variety of seating options: seat walls with lawn strips; seat walls with an aggregate surface and stair risers, while adding to the sense of place in this newly created venue. The seat walls were designed and constructed with stone veneer and a cast stone cap. The stone veneer was selected to match other materials around campus, including the main campus entrance and the Francis Hall exterior.

Brick banding continues along the pedestrian pathway from the plaza and into the rest of the campus walkways. This walkway can be used as a fire lane or by maintenance vehicles. A rooftop plaza overlooks the space.
Photo: Alvernia University/Theo Anderson

A brick-banded walkway leads pedestrians to the campus-side entrance of Francis Hall. The walkway materials tie in with a previous project on campus, the Campus Commons, and continue the newly established campus standard for main walkways on campus. This walkway can also be used as a fire lane or by maintenance vehicles.

An exterior ramp provides ADA accessibility to the building and lower plaza. The concrete ramp surface is enhanced with brick veneer walls and cast stone caps.

The lower plaza is constructed with clay pavers over a concrete slab, with a mortar setting bed and sand-swept joints. The entire plaza has a radiant slab snow-melt system in the concrete to reduce maintenance and increase safety during the winter months.

The ADA ramp provides a comfortable descent to the plaza. The walls are veneered with brick.

The design of the lower plaza features brick banding and clay pavers. The outer-most bands of sailor-course pavers are set on a temporary bed.

This design can accommodate donor bricks if the university decides to pursue this fundraising option.

Rope lighting was tucked under the capstone on the seat walls to supplement the overflow lighting from the interior of the new atrium. The entire outdoor space is also wired for outdoor lighting, if needed for special events or required on a permanent basis in the future. The center handrail is an LED-lighted rail.

The center stage fountain is a focal point of the lower plaza. It is a flush fountain design with a circular architectural grate. The lower plaza is pitched toward the fountain.

The inner ring of the grate handles the water from the fountain and the outer ring handles the water drainage from the plaza from precipitation. Drainage for both rings is housed under the decorative fountain grate.

The brick banding and 4 x 8 clay pavers (Whitacre Greer) draw the eye toward the center of the space and the fountain. The outer-most bands of sailor-course pavers are set on a temporary bed to accommodate donor bricks if the university decides to pursue that fundraising option. The entire plaza has a radiant slab snow-melt system in the concrete.

The plantings for the space is in keeping with the university?EUR??,,????'???s standard plant palette, developed as part of the landscape master planning.

Ornamental trees, including shadblow serviceberry and ?EUR??,,????'??Kwanzan?EUR??,,????'??? cherry, bring the architecture into scale. Cherry laurels create a planting barrier and screen the mechanical equipment.

Planter boxes with shore junipers and Shenandoah switch grass step down along the ADA ramp to bring a softer, more inviting edge. From early spring through semester?EUR??,,????'???s end, daffodils bloom and accent the new campus-side entrance. Francis Hall is at the core of Alvernia?EUR??,,????'???s arts and culture programming, constantly teeming with lectures, artwork displays, theatrical performances and musical events.

A New Plaza Area
At the dedication ceremony for the new plaza area, University President Thomas Flynn, PhD, referred to ?EUR??,,????'??the beautiful new entry plaza and courtyard?EUR??,,????'?? that now graces Alvernia?EUR??,,????'???s venerable Old Main.

?EUR??,,????'??The historic building, which once represented the entirety of Alvernia College, is now a striking gateway to a beautiful and vibrant university, one of which the university?EUR??,,????'???s Bernardine foundresses scarcely could have imagined when they opened its doors over 50 years ago.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???

Project Team