August 5, 2014
The rehabilitation of the historic and iconic Schmucker Hall at Gettysburg Seminary undertaken by Morgan-Keller received the highest Excellence in Construction award from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) at its annual recognition of extraordinary quality work.
Top construction projects and the firms that displayed exemplary and award winning quality were honored during ABC’s annual awards gala in Maui, Hawaii on February 11, 2014. “I am very proud to recognize Morgan-Keller for winning one of our Excellence in Construction Awards and contributing to the overall advancement of ABC and the construction industry,” said 2014 ABC National Chairman Dan Brodbeck, President and CEO of Compass Partners, LLC. “Their project was a great example of innovation, quality, and commitment to safety.”
The Schmucker Hall rehabilitation was contracted by the Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation as a joint venture of Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and the Adams County Historical Society. The Architect was Murphy & Dittenhafer of York, PA.
The on-site announcement was made Friday morning, July 25th, under the Museum's Peace Portico overlooking Seminary Ridge with the Executive Director of the Museum, Barbara Franco, and the Gettysburg Seminary President, Michael Cooper-White joining Morgan-Keller team members to receive the Eagle Award.
Morgan-Keller’s work led to the transformation of the 180-year-old building into the Seminary Ridge Museum. The new museum, which opened on time for the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 2013, is dedicated to the issues of slavery and the faith communities, and field hospital medicine during the period of the Civil War. Morgan-Keller blended old with new on the LEED-Certified museum by installing 40 geothermal wells and 900-pound timber support beams using mortise and tendon connections - meeting the strict 10-month schedule with zero accidents.
The Excellence in Construction awards program honored all construction team members, including the contractor, owner, architect, and engineer and projects are judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety, and cost. “There were extraordinary sensitivities in the Seminary Ridge Museum project,” added Gettysburg Seminary's John Spangler, “because the building is the largest artifact in the museum exhibit, integrally connected to the stories since it was a field hospital during and after the Battle, and its role as a place where the struggle over slavery was debated by Samuel Simon Schmucker, the Lutheran church’s most outspoken critic of slavery. Morgan-Keller’s historically sensitive rehabilitation is truly of the highest caliber.”
Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national trade association representing 22,000 chapter members, with complete information available at www.abc.org. Morgan-Keller Construction is one of Maryland’s largest and most respected commercial builders, with offices in Frederick and Columbia. The Seminary Ridge Museum is open to the public, with its schedule and more information available at www.SeminaryRidgeMuseum.org. While on campus, explore the historic walking path and learn more about the Seminary, the Museum, and Seminary Ridge. Contact the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg at info@Ltsg.edu.