Historic Church Multi-Building Facility Assessment

/ Huff's Union Church/

Huff’s Union Church maintains seven outbuildings with varying levels of historic significance, including the Church dating back to 1876. We provided a complete Facilities Assessment to help the congregation identify top-priority preservation projects and determine which other projects should be budgeted for and addressed over time. This assessment report included an in-depth photo series, with building reviews, an HVAC summary, code implications, and an estimation of probable costs for each of the seven buildings.

Church Replaces More Than Fifty Windows

/ Chirst Episcopal Church/
Church Replaces More Than Fifty Windows

Facilities cannot operate at peak efficiency without continual upgrades and maintenance. A building’s windows are generally responsible for a third of the building’s total energy loss. Now, with new windows in place, it is easily expected that Christ Episcopal Church will save noticeably on the facility’s heating and cooling bills, plus their annual maintenance expenses are also reduced due to the change in exterior materials.

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School District Multi-Building Roof Replacement

/ Conrad Weiser Area School District/

The Conrad Weiser Area School District needed to repair, and in some cases replace, the roofs of their Middle and High School buildings. Coordinated with the School District Administration to perform the work over the summer, we began the process with quality control testing for the product selected and selective demolition as required, providing temporary protection of roof areas being repaired or replaced to maintain the weather-proof condition of the existing building.

Experienced supervisors and installers, approved by the manufacturers installed the membrane roofing system and applied the coating system.  Rigid insulation panels including tapered insulation, metal copings, roof edge fascia, flashings, expansion joints, roof drains, scuppers and other accessories as required were also part of the scope of work.  Additionally, new metal gutters and snow guards were added to the High School’s existing metal roof system.

At the Middle School, 100 linear feet of seam irregularities and repairs were performed on the surface of the built-up roofing system.  An additional 300 square feet of damaged or wet roof insulation and repair, and the installation of 10 additional replacement roof drains were also part of the project.

Muhlenberg Green Architects’ Firm Principal and Project Architect James A. Sarro, AIA, wanted a cost-effective way to revitalize the finish of the existing metal roof at the High School. Created in the school’s custom blue color, Acrymax® Technologies Inc.'s coating system, based on Kynar Aquatec® PVDF, was selected to refresh the look of the building and provide the continued performance of the metal roofs for years to come.  

Working within the School District’s budget and guidance provided by the product manufacturer, the proper products were selected during the design process and installed in the field under Jim’s and Acrymax’s supervision, resulting in the successful completion of the project.

See Drone Video Footage

Acrymax ® Technologies Inc. Project Blog

Vertis Warehouse and Shipping Dock Addition

/ Vertis/

Due to growth, a large United States producer of advertising inserts needed to expand their warehouse space. Muhlenberg Greene Architects provided planning and design services for a 48,000 square foot high-bay storage warehouse addition to the company’s existing plant. The project included the construction of new truck docks, mezzanine office space, the design of a new circulation pattern for their existing parking lots, additional trailer storage areas, and air conditioning of the existing plant area.

Rohrbach Library at Kutztown University

/ Rohrbach Library at Kutztown University/

Kutztown University’s Rohrbach Library provides a dynamic, intellectual environment dedicated to providing library and information services to meet the information needs of the university's community, both local and distant. The library aspires to be a vital campus partner providing innovative solutions in the pursuit of greater knowledge, through teaching, research, and learning by providing resources, services, and technologies in a welcoming environment that encourages collaboration and creativity.

Muhlenberg Greene Architects was commissioned to renovate Kutztown University’s Rohrbach Library. The renovation involved brick restoration and repairs to a masonry wall to correct thru-wall flashing problems and correct water infiltration issues. Cleaning and re-pointing of the exterior gave the building a new, clean image. Interior repairs to the damaged finishes completed the renovation.

Conrad Weiser Middle School Renovations

/ Conrad Weiser Middle School/

Conrad Weiser Middle School is a public middle school in Heidelberg Township. The school is a federally designated Title I school. This project involved the renovation of an existing 199,000 square foot school.  Design issues focused on reorganization and altering the former high school to function as a middle school facility.

The alterations include a total mechanical and electrical upgrade to the building, asbestos abatement, selective demolition, interior alterations to provide new classroom layouts, renovations to the auditorium and stage, improvements to the gymnasium and locker rooms, major renovation of the main office, guidance suite, and nurse’s suite, upgrade of the food service, and general upgrade to finishes, doors, and hardware throughout the building.

Reading Housing Authority Interior Renovations

/ Reading Housing Authority/

Muhlenberg Greene Architects provided design services for the interior renovations and upgrades to five public housing units for the Reading Housing Authority. Facilities covered include Rhodes Apartments, Eisenhower Apartments, Hubert Apartments, Franklin Towers, and Kennedy Building Towers.

The renovations included new VCT flooring, replacing furnishings for common areas, replacing ceilings, upgrading lighting, and new paint finishes. The upgrades provided a new color scheme for common areas, activity rooms, and corridors.

Brown Printing Company Additions and Renovations

/ Brown Printing Company/

Brown Printing Company is part of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world’s major international media companies. Production at the East Greenville Division consists of a wide variety of high-quality catalogs plus monthly and weekly periodicals including such well-known titles as Time and Sports Illustrated. The plant operates around the clock, seven days a week, to meet its very demanding production schedules.

Muhlenberg Greene began its association with Brown Printing Company in 1982 with the design of an addition to the original 55,000-square-foot facility. Other additions and renovations have occurred almost continuously since that time for this dynamic company so that today the facility contains some 400,000 square feet of production, warehousing, and administrative spaces.

Reading City Hall Additions and Renovations

/ Reading City Hall/

Planning, Design, and Construction Administration for the 45,000 sq. ft. addition and extensive renovations to an existing 75,000 sq. ft. City Hall structure. The existing historic building, built in 1908, had undergone its last major renovation in 1928.

The comprehensive renovations were designed to meet the current building code standards requiring all life safety, electrical, plumbing, sprinkler, and HVAC systems to be replaced. Construction phasing was carefully planned to keep all departments of the city government in operation throughout the 2-year construction process. The renovation provided new security features, including audible and visual emergency warning systems.

Read more about the history of The Reading City Hall in the Reading Eagle.

Easton Post Office Window Replacement

/ Easton Post Office/

The Easton Post Office was constructed in 1910 as a two-story mix of Beaux-Arts and Neoclassical styles with limestone cladding and wood double-hung windows. A later addition, complementing the original style, was built in 1937.  The building is currently located in Easton’s historic district.

Muhlenberg Greene completed a study on the 48 double-hung wood windows, which included an environmental analysis of the lead paint.  We were then commissioned by the US Postal Service to complete the final design for the replacement of the deteriorated windows.  This involved submitting and obtaining a “Certificate of Appropriateness” to the Historic District Commission for review and approval.

Athletic Fields & Stadium Improvements for the Muhlenberg School District

/ Muhlenberg School District/

Muhlenberg Greene Architects provided the planning, design, and construction administration services for the comprehensive upgrade to Muhlenberg School District’s athletic fields. Included in the project was the construction of a new, two-story Field House consisting of a lower level Maintenance facility with upper-level Toilet Rooms, Concession Stand, and Locker Rooms to access the football stadium.

The football stadium was redesigned with new grandstand bleacher seating for 3,200 people, including a new, elevated Press Box with film deck.

The improvements included the reconstruction of the Football Field and the installation of a new All-Weather Running Track. Additional field improvements included new Soccer and Softball Fields with a separate Concession Stand and Toilet Room facility. Other improvements included new field lighting at the stadium, baseball field and soccer field and the construction of a new Storage Building and new Ticket Booths.

Stadium Improvements at Conrad Weiser Area School District

/ Conrad Weiser Area School District/

Muhlenberg Greene Architects provided services for design and planning of upgrades to the District’s football stadium. Included in the project were new stadium bleachers for both the home and visitors’ seating with a capacity of 1800 people. The stadium improvements also included the construction of a new 8-lane, 400M, all-weather running track as well as a new event areas for high jump, long jump, and discus. The existing field house was expanded and renovated to provide new toilet facilities, improved concession area and additional storage.

The Wyndcroft School Classroom Renovations

/ The Wyndcroft School /

The Wyndcroft School is a private school providing education for Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. Housing the Lower and Upper Schools (Grades K-8), the main school building of The Wyndcroft School is the largest structure on the campus.

Planning, design, and construction administration services for selective renovations to increase the number of classroom spaces, improve the interior circulation, upgrade the mechanical systems, enlarge four existing classrooms, air condition selected portions of the building, and address necessary code improvements were conducted. The scope of work included interior design services for space planning and finish and color selections.

The project was closely coordinated with the School Administration and Construction manager to meet budget constraints and a limited time frame for construction activities.

Exterior improvements included the replacement of an aluminum entrance, installation of new windows at the new classrooms, library, and computer classroom, partial roof replacement, and the installation of new roof drains.