SteelStax Contact Information
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Please feel free to use the information below to contact us, and also make sure to visit us at
www.artsquest.org and at www.wlvt.org
Julie Benjamin
SteelStax Campaign Director
p. 610-332-1345
f. 610-332-1310
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News Release
Spillman Farmer Named Architects for SteelStax Project
04/10/2008
Contact: Kim I. Plyler (610) 332-1300, Ext. 333, kplyler@fest.org
BETHLEHEM, PA—Local architectural firm Spillman Farmer Architects has been named the architect of record for the SteelStax arts, media and cultural complex to be constructed on a 4.5-acre parcel of former Bethlehem Steel land in Bethlehem, Pa., SteelStax principals ArtsQuest and PBS 39 announced today.
“The SteelStax project would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any architect,” said Spillman Farmer Architects Principal Barry J. Pell, AIA, NCARB. “For Spillman Farmer Architects it is an opportunity to interact with our own community and to envision a design that can both honor its noble history and capture its dynamic future. We’re thrilled to be a part of the SteelStax creative team.”
Based in Bethlehem, Spillman Farmer Architects is a nationally recognized architectural firm dedicated to creating meaningful architecture through a collaborative process of exploration and design. The firm was founded in 1927 by a team of two Bethlehem professionals, Curtis Lovelace and Otto Spillman, who earned a reputation for excellence designing homes for Bethlehem Steel executives.
Over its history, the firm has designed the architecture of some of Bethlehem’s most iconic buildings including the Bethlehem Area Public Library, saved architectural treasures such as the Sun Inn in Bethlehem and helped to re-envision the cultural landscape with projects such as the Banana Factory and the Ice House on Sand Island in Bethlehem. Today, the firm’s projects span the eastern United States. One of its newest undertakings is the performing arts center to be constructed at Millersville University in Millersville, Pa.
Spillman Farmer’s SteelStax design team is led by Pell and project architect Joseph N. Biondo, AIA. Pell brings more than 30 years of design experience to the project, including the design of performance and theater spaces such as the State Theatre in Easton, Pa., Allentown Symphony Hall in Allentown, Pa., the Ice House and Banana Factory. Professionally and personally dedicated to fostering arts in the Lehigh Valley, he is the president of the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley and past co-chair of the Moravian College Music Alliance.
Biondo, a Bethlehem native, is an award-winning design architect. In 2007, he served as project architect for the Central Energy Plant at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., which was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Biondo has also received the chapter’s Silver Medal, the highest honor it bestows, for the design of the Visual Arts Building at Lafayette College in Easton.
“The Bethlehem Steel site is a deeply meaningful place. The SteelStax design will foster both a connection and interaction with the physical and emotional history of the site while also moving forward with a new kind of energy,” Biondo said. “While reverential, this design must go toe to toe with the iconic blast furnaces, making bold moves that are appropriate to the sheer greatness of the site. The architecture will take its cue from its larger context, with authentic materials that appeal to the history of place.”
ArtsQuest President and CEO Jeff Parks said that ArtsQuest and PBS 39 are very pleased to be partnering with Spillman Farmer Architects on the creation of SteelStax.
“The firm’s designs for the project are mindful of Bethlehem Steel’s legacy while displaying incredible vision for this innovative arts, media and cultural complex, which will serve as a revolutionary, new town square for the community,” Parks said. “Spillman Farmer has played a key role in the development and renovation of many landmarks throughout our community. ArtsQuest has worked continuously with the firm for more than a decade on the construction and development of its Banana Factory, and we look forward to partnering with it on this exciting project.”
“Naming Spillman Farmer to the SteelStax project is a momentous occasion,” said Patricia Simon, PBS 39 President and CEO. “Having the distinction of being one of the first jointly developed public broadcasting station and performing arts centers in the nation, we have full confidence Spillman Farmer will bring insight and innovation to our vision of connecting community arts, education and television.”
