Project Description
2010 RADA
Restoration/Preservation / Grand
Designed in 1934 by architect William Lescaze, who is known for his work on the International Style Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building in Philadelphia, this fragile studio was slated for demolition until a sympathetic patron came to its rescue. Martin Jay Rosenblum, AIA, painstakingly stabilized and restored the structure—over the years it had suffered ungainly additions and substantial water damage—and designed an adjoining house that keeps the iconic building front and center. “Our concept was to expose the entire studio 360 degrees, as it was meant to be seen,” Rosenblum says. “The house would be the bleachers from which to view the studio.”
The new house hugs the side of a hill, skinny side to the road in deference to the studio. A slender bridge connects the two, tucked behind the studio’s reconstructed fieldstone parapet.
Our judges appreciated the meticulous work on both buildings, calling the studio “a great artifact, skillfully done.”