The SCUP North Atlantic conference features recently completed projects and those underway along Northeastern University’s Columbus Ave Corridor. Included on the tour are the completed work and future phases of design by MGA Partners at Snell Library—a project viewed as a future model for a fully experiential research hub. Led by Katie Broh and university leadership, the tour is the first public unveiling of the phased design and planning that began in 2020. March 2024

For the SCUP Mid-Atlantic annual conference, Partner Katie Broh leads an in-depth presentation of FinTech, a newly launched center at the University of Delaware STAR Campus. MGA’s design is enabling the university to fully realize innovation in finance, banking security and equity. She is joined by UD’s Carlos Aserta, Sarita Sen, and Albert Shields who reflect on the internal and external partnerships underpinning the project. March 2024

In February we celebrated our newest firm Associate, Margo Angelopoulos (left) and her ten-year tenure at MGA. Margo’s design and detailing contributions, ranging from the restoration of a landmark Federal building to a state-of-the-art university library, have been invaluable to our practice. Her analytical approach, ease with stakeholders and team partners, and eye for teachable lessons represent just a small part of the many talents she brings to our studio. February 2024

We are honoring Mary Keefe for her partnership in leading our studio towards decades of accomplishments in design and in engaging our community. Best wishes from all of us, past and present, on her retirement. January 2024

Snell Library is the center of academic research for Northeastern University’s highly diverse graduate and undergraduate community—heavily used with more than 1.2 million visitors annually. Our renovation transforms Snell into a research hub for networked interdisciplinary collaborations, built upon experiential learning pedagogy. The first two phases of the project, which include a dramatic connecting stair and a flexible architecture of modular pods, are now open—with remaining phases complete in the Fall of 2024. October 2023

For DesignPhiladelphia 2023, MGA opened our studio—along with our neighboring colleagues CBP Architects and Metcalfe—to celebrate 234 Market Street as a hub for design in our city. We featured exhibits on our 25-year engagement in the Visual and Performing Arts, along with our longstanding Pinup series—a forum that brings voices of design across many disciplines to our studio. October 2023

MGA Architectural Designer Elsa G. De León, Assoc. AIA was a featured speaker at Fast Forward Philly 2023. Her presentation, Culture + Migration: Approaching Longevity in Our Community was seen at Brickworks Design Studio Philadelphia (1319 Walnut Street) as part of DesignPhiladelphia 2023. October 2023

Our University of Delaware FinTech project at the STAR campus—an innovation hub where academic and industry collaboration happens—is now complete. The 50,000 sf facility on three floors unites the Lerner School of Business and the College of Engineering with spaces for integrated research on financial technology and its applications in the marketplace. September 2023

MGA and Carpenters’ Company of Philadelphia produced a live performance about historic preservation and community revitalization, Arriving, Staying, Leaving: The Idea of Home—which celebrated the role individuals play in building livable communities. John Jarboe, founder and artistic director of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret and Drew Philp, author of A $500 House in Detroit: Rebuilding an Abandoned Home and American City collaborated on a sung and spoken reverie, musing about historic arrivals, house settling, and departures. September 2023

Set in the verdant context of Ardrossan Farm on Philadelphia’s Main Line, our re-envisioning of a historic twin residence is complete. This project expands living space in the homes through a set of modern insertions that resonate with the Cotswald style of the original residences. June 2023

MGA’s renovation of several floors of the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in downtown Cleveland, a GSA Design Excellence project, serves as a comprehensive guide for workplace redesign throughout the entire building. The first phases of this project provide modern, collaborative suites for the U.S. Navy and the Railroad Retirement Board—while the anchor phase will offer a new home for the Department of Veterans Affairs late next year. May 2023

Firm partners Amy Stein and Katie Broh led a tour of the Maltz Performing Arts Center at Case Western Reserve University for AIA Ohio’s Design Symposium. Our comprehensive adaptation of this landmark paired a significant preservation component with several new insertions, primarily a glass and steel canopy, to fully support the acoustic and programming requirements for an advanced university and civic performance hall. September 2022

MGA Partners, in collaboration with Research Facilities Design, is currently working with Drexel University’s College of Engineering to re-envision its research and academic programs—and the spaces they need to foster a sustainable, interdisciplinary, and adaptable environment. Our study will include assessment, programming, planning and design for renovated, new and leased spaces throughout Drexel’s campus September 2022

Our renovation of University of Delaware’s signature concert venue, Puglisi Orchestra Hall, was recognized with Honor Awards for Design Excellence from AIA Delaware and AIA Philadelphia, and a Divine Detail award from AIA Philadelphia. It features a compelling visual and acoustically superior interior envelope for practice and performance. November 2022

We have completed an historic restoration of the Joseph F. Weis Jr. U.S. Courthouse, prominent in downtown Pittsburgh, for the General Services Administration. The project revives an abandoned post office lobby and restores its historic Guastavino vault for use by the Social Security Administration. January 2021

MGA’s design for a future performing arts center at Central High School received an Award for Design Excellence from AIA Philadelphia. The School District of Philadelphia’s renowned high school has embarked on a pivotal expansion and advancement course with the center’s innovatively designed spaces for its music and theater programs, and a multi-purpose, 460 seat performance hall. December 2020

Lehigh University’s initiative for the preservation and enhancement of its historic campus core is further realized with our transformation of their formidable chemistry building. It was recognized with an AIA Pennsylvania Award for Design Excellence with the jury chair singling out MGA’s skillful reimaging of a landmark building with 21st-century technology, sustainability, accessibility and collaborative/social spaces.November 2020

Mary Keefe and MGA are underwriting a research study directed by Dr. Franca Trubiano focusing on 70 Years of Women in Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. The study investigates the professional lives of women who graduated from Penn, 1950–2020. Begun in fall 2019, the research continues today. June 2020

Our project at Case Western Reserve University, the Maltz Center for the Performing Arts, received an Adaptive Reuse & Repurpose Award from Faith & Form, the interfaith journal on religion, art and architecture, in association with the AIA. The project repurposed a nationally registered synagogue into a new multi-disciplinary performing arts center, pairing a significant preservation component with modern insertions—primarily a glass and steel canopy—conceived to complement the historic character of the space. April 2020

Katie Broh AIA presented at the 2020 SCUP MidAtlantic Conference with University of Pennsylvania Campus Architect Mark Kocent and Wharton Senior Director of Operations Maria O’Callaghan-Cassidy. The presentation, Substation Project Enables New Academic Research Building at Campus Gateway, explored how building projects in tight urban campuses need to accomplish many objectives. For Wharton, new student learning and research spaces are being achieved within the parameters of an infrastructure project. March 2020

MGA was honored as Rookie of the Year by the Community Design Collaborative for our efforts towards a Feasibility Study for the Graves-MEE Mercy Douglass Community Wellness Center, proposed to serve the community of Southwest Philadelphia. Congratulations to our CDC lead, Sara Pettit AIA, and the entire MGA team that contributed to this worthy civic project. March 2020

Dan Kelley and his daughter presented at the Perspective 2019 conference in New York sponsored by The Plan, an Italian design publication. They paired to discuss two significant and adjacent projects in San Francisco built a generation apart—Yerba Buena Esplanade (MGA Partners) and Transbay Redevelopment (Goldman Sachs). Martha Kelley is a Vice President of Goldman Sachs who leads urban real estate investments. July 2019

Dan Kelley FAIA presented at the Boston Public Library, South End, designed by our founder Romaldo Giurgola—beginning with the brillliant moment of the Philadelphia School, following our connections to Boston through two design competitions, the resulting commission to build the library, and setting a path for future renovation. March 2019