WYCK association education shed & visitor facilities
EDUCATION PLACE AND VISITOR FACILITIES AT AN HISTORIC HOUSE MUSEUM SITE, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA
FEASIBILITY/PLANNING STUDY COMPLETED 2001, CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED 2003
2004 HONOR AWARD, AIA PENNSYLVANIA, 2003 RECOGNITION AWARD, AIA PHILADELPHIA
Wyck, a House Museum and Garden in Germantown, was home to nine generations of the Wistar and Haines family from 1690 to 1973, the longest continuous habitation of any Philadelphia residence. Since that time it has grown into one of the most well-known of 250 such historic sites in the Philadelphia Area. A working farm until the 1830’s, the complex includes the main house, a barn and other outbuildings, and a landscape of rare tree species, a rejuvenated home garden, and an old-style rose garden featuring vines from the mid-1800’s.
Upon winning the commission, Wyck’s Board of Directors engaged us to help them face challenges typical of any historic place:
to more fully interpret the site for visitors,
to more actively interface with an evolving neighborhood, and
to integrate modern amenities into an historic setting
The Education Place hosts activities for Wyck committees and community groups, and has transformed Wyck’s ability to communicate the nature of Quaker family life to school groups and the public. The year before our construction began, school-age visitation numbered 300; the first year following completion of construction, 1100 school children visited, and within a few years and since, the number has grown to 4500 students per year.
Accessible restrooms, proximate to both the Education Place and the Main House, frame the Rose Garden and the original Barn. Their organization recalls that of the Main House, where sliding glass gates retract into walls at the Conservatory, connecting the Lawn side entry walk to the Rose Garden.
Our award-winning buildings are the first contracted structures at Wyck since William Strickland’s axial interior renovation transformed the Main House in 1824, bringing it national recognition and acclaim.
“At the gate between the Visitor Facilities, a hinged panel lovingly accommodates the branch of a 100-year-old Saucer Magnolia. One could imagine Strickland handling it in just the same way.” Inga Saffron, Architecture Critic The Philadelphia Inquirer
