Masonic Village: Sewickley, Pa

Masonry Construction, July-August, 2005

This project includes 228 independent living apartments, 35 independent living villas, 60 assisted living beds, and 128 nursing beds. The site's design evokes the character of an "English village," while the exterior and interior architecture incorporate the "craft" aspect of building, which is a Masonic trademark.

Drawing from the traditional masonry detailing of this architectural style, traditional stack bond, double soldier coursing, and rowlocks are intertwined with basket weaving and brick relieving projections for additional shadowing and to scale down the massing of the facilities. Limestone capped gable end walls with false chimneys tend to diminish the large scale facade. The lower portion is broken down by the use of a strong linear limestone coursing and utility-sized face brick.

About 1.4 million modular-sized face brick, 250,000 utility-size face brick, 500,000 CMUs, and 1700 cubic feet of Indiana limestone was used in the project.

Project Participants

Masonry Contractor: M.I. Friday Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa.

Architect: Pelkins Eastman Architects, Pittsburgh, Pa.