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Mechanical Hall

Mechanical Hall at the University of Delaware was renovated by Ziger|Snead to house the Paul R. Jones Collection, one of the largest and most complete holdings of African-American Art in the world. The building consists of three galleries, a study for viewing artwork containing custom-designed flat files, a conservation room, art storage spaces, faculty offices, and a conference room. The two-story brick and heavy timber structure was built in 1898 for Mechanical and Electrical Engineering classrooms and a machine shop. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973.


Removal of interior partitions and ceilings revealed the original character of the building and exposed the heavy timber structure. Plaster and paint were stripped off the walls to expose the original brick, and panels for displaying artwork float off of the existing brick walls. The palette was limited to painted drywall, Venetian plaster, dark-stained White Oak floors, and White Oak doors and casework Ziger|Snead also added a new glass vestibule to mark the new entrance to the gallery.

Client

University of Delaware

Location

Newark, DE

Size

13,500 sf

Completed

2004

STATUS

Built

Desert Dunes
Desert Dunes

Design Team

Steve Ziger

Joseph Celluci

Craig Carbrey

Dan Jones

Glenn Shrum

Consultants

Civil Engineer – Duffield Associates, Inc.

Hardware – Harry Alexander, V.J. Doors, Inc.

Mechanical / Electrical Engineer – Mueller Associates

Structural Engineer – Gredell & Associates

Acoustical Consultant – Acoustical Design Collaborative

Landscape Architect – Tom Taylor (Univ. of Delaware)

Photography

Alain Jaramillo

Awards

2006 Interior Design Honor Award – Inform Magazie

2004 Design Award – AIA Baltimore

2004 Merit Award – AIA Maryland

Publications

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Figure 53

Interior Design Honor Award, Inform Magazine, 2006

Merit Award, AIA Maryland, 2004

Design Award, AIA Baltimore, 2004

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