Graves Hall

Project Summary

Hope called Parkway to help bring the community classic, Graves Hall, into the twenty-first century. The job included replacing all of the existing knob and tube wiring of the late 1800's, installing electric shades, a drop down A/V screen, extensive lighting dimming systems, and finally, putting the right light on Hope's irreplaceable collection of paintings: large oils of Hope's previous school presidents.

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ABC Award Winner

Key Challenges

The first task, replacing the wiring, included two challenges: We had to penetrate three-foot thick limestone, brick and concrete walls covered in 2-inch thick bamboo reinforced plaster for new conduit runs for feeder and branch circuits. And we had to it without interrupting Hope's phone service. With the exception of a scheduled ten-minute power outage, the phone system functioned without interruption throughout the project.

The other improvements included a request we get a lot: respect the aesthetic environment. We did. And even though drop down A/V screens were rare in the 1800's, we did a nice job making ours feel comfortable in this classic hall. Finally, we lit the president paintings with specialized luminaries, designed with adjustable shutters and mounted inconspicuously above a cloud ceiling. Net effect? A grand history in a very flattering light.