Facility: New Office, Exhibition and Library
Size: 32,905 SF Renovation & Addition
Location: Hershey, PA
Services/Scope Provided: Architectural Design

The project consists of alterations and addition to an existing two-story brick and steel frame office building built in 1981 for the Pennsylvania/American Water Company. The existing exterior façade is intact and complemented by our design modifications to the front to accommodate the AACA program.

A new building approach incorporates an accessible pedestrian and vehicle driveway ramp, which leads to a passenger drop-off at a new front entrance. The addition consists of the pedestrian/vehicular entrance with canopy and vestibule affixed to the portion of the existing building altered for the exhibition space.

To create a two-story automobile exhibition space, alterations included the partial floor removal of the existing elevated second floor slab and steel support structure in the front third of the building.

This facility now houses the world’s largest, most comprehensive collection of historic automobile marketing and technical literature. Interior alterations required installation of additional steel beams to reinforce the existing second floor structure in the rear 30’ structural bay for the entire width of the building. This allowed use of the Owner’s high density filing system for archival material. New elevator was installed for researchers’ access.

The AACA program includes headquarters offices on the first floor, with gift shop, kitchenette, trophy work area, sales and donations work area, mailroom, toilet rooms and a monumental stair leading from the exhibition space to the second floor balcony overlooking the exhibition space. The second floor program includes the boardroom, library, library offices, meeting rooms, classroom, digitizing, cold storage, and videotaping rooms.