Penn Kelly Writers House

Built in 1851, Kelly Writers House is one of the oldest building on Penn’s campus. The 7,585-SF house has been a forerunner at Penn in interactive webcasting, livestreaming, and creating audio and video recordings. Langan designed utility connections to serve the building, developed soil erosion and sedimentation controls, and prepared the required regulatory plan. Langan worked closely with the architects to address selective demolition and protection of sensitive features within the compact work area. Our team supported the foundation design of the next addition at the front porch of the historic structure, which was being renovated and expanded to include a below-grade level. Langan performed a geotechnical field investigation to develop an understanding of the subsurface conditions at the front end of the structure and performed an in-depth review of the record plans for the structure. We assisted the structural engineer in developing a shallow foundation system design that would support the new basement and the expanded porch and front room space.