Projects: Stevens and Smith Center

Capitol Project

A dark green museum information panel and map titled Forged on the Frontier stands at an angle against a teal wall, with a polished wooden floor. A white scales-of-justice icon appears beside the title. On the left side of the panel, the main English text reads: "You are in the law office of Thaddeus Stevens. By the time he came to Lancaster, Stevens was a determined lawyer and an influential lawmaker. He fiercely championed democracy and equality, even when his views made him unpopular. To your right is a recreated office filled with furnishings he owned. To your far left, an audio program plays speeches made by Stevens." Several lines of raised Braille appear beneath this text. The key and map labels are in Spanish and English. The center heading reads "Key" and "Leyenda." Its bilingual labels read: "You Are Here" and "Usted está aquí"; "Stairs (Down)" and "Escaleras (abajo)"; "Entry / Exit" and "Entrada / Salida"; "Toilets" and "Baños"; "Exhibit Furniture" and "Mobiliario de la exhibición"; "Wall" and "Pared." Colored and white symbols accompany each label. On our right, the heading reads "Room Map" and "Mapa de la sala." The simplified floor plan uses white lines for walls, yellow blocks for exhibit furniture, and a red-and-white marker for the viewer's location. A north arrow is labeled "N," and the bottom of the map reads "Entry" and "Entrada." At the top of the wall, a paragraph is cropped by the image.

Stevens and Smith Center

PAC partnered with Lancaster History, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, and Civic Architects on the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy, leading inclusive design and accessibility from concept design through construction across a site that mixed new construction with a historic building not easily made accessible after the fact.