Lyceum Hall
The Lyceum Hall project aimed to revive the historic 1852 timber-frame building in the Winchester Town Center Historic District. Previous fires had claimed its third floor, gabled roof, and historical architectural details.
Our team undertook an extensive study of historical photographs and the remaining structure, leading to a design concept that respects the original Carpenter Gothic proportions and village scale. The new design sought to reanimate the pedestrian streetscape, reimagining the roof silhouette, building proportions, and façade's depth while introducing contemporary functionality, thereby combining historical charm with modern practicality.
Categories: Arts, Music, Education, and Culture | Commemorative Spaces | Sustainable Design | Inclusive Architecture
Lyceum Hall Conceptual Design
The conceptual design was provided for Tara Realty Trust Company to investigate the feasibility of rebuilding the 3-story, 1852 timber-frame retail and office building, formerly Lyceum Hall located in the Winchester Town Center Historic District.
Lyceum Hall was built between 1850-1852 by The Young Men's Literary Association. The building provided retail stores on the ground floor, office on the second floor, along with a sizeable hall on the third floor for the Lyceum of the Town of Winchester Corporation. The organization held lectures, debates, concerts, and religious services in the Lyceum Hall.
The structure had lost the third floor and gabled roof to past fires as well as all of its historic architectural details.
We carefully researched photographs from the town’s archives, measured and drew what remained of the existing building’s original 1852 Carpenter Gothic proportions and streetscape scale to create a new building vocabulary. The concept’s village scale reactivates the pedestrian streetscape.
The new vocabulary’s conceptual goal was to recreate the roof silhouette, building proportions, and façade’s material sightlines and depth of shadowing.