Renovation, Addition, Adaptive Reuse

Designed by architect Thomas Lonsdale and built in 1891, the Baptist Temple was the largest Protestant church in the US and where Temple University was founded. Keast & Hood Co. provided structural design as part of a major conversion of the deteriorated and decaying 36,000 square foot church into a modern, 1,200-seat Temple Performing Arts Center. Existing structure was repaired and reinforced for added loads, new mechanical systems, and acoustic reflectors. The process was made challenging by the need to thread new steel through historic building fabric without disrupting original framing or compromising sight lines within the performance space. The structural project included attic reinforcements, balcony reframing, floor reconstruction for a new seating layout, and foundation underpinning.