ADP Architects Designs an ADA Accessible Campus Plan for St. Ignatius Loyola Church

NOVEMBER 5, 2021

Founded in 1851, St. Ignatius Loyola Parish Campus is a defining element of its upper Park Avenue residential neighborhood, providing a spiritual home to a growing, multigenerational congregation. The campus, comprising several historic, New York Landmark-designated buildings, features the Renaissance Revival Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, originally designed by Schnickel and Ditmars, as its centerpiece.

Project Facts:

Sector: Sacred

Location: New York, NY

Scope: Architectural Design and Planning; Historic Preservation; Accessibility

Project Type: Exterior Addition, Interior Renovation

Status: Completed

As is often the case with significant historic buildings constructed over a period of time, the existing campus did not account for connectivity between its disparate buildings, and each building functioned separately from one another without a clear connective path. ADP Architects was therefore engaged to design a campus master plan with a full suite of historically-sensitive accessibility and life safety interventions in the sanctuary, undercroft, daily mass chapel and grammar school. 

The plan’s architectural design component involved crafting a tasteful exterior accessibility elevator addition providing direct entry to both the Sanctuary and the Undercroft from 84th Street. Clad in matching limestone with copper roofing, the elevator seamlessly continues the Church’s architectural language. As part of this extraordinary design effort, ADP Architects also activated a formerly dark entrance beneath the church entry steps into a light-filled Grand Loggia illuminated by ornate stained glass windows gifted by a parish family. An understated accessibility ramp behind existing ornamental gates was incorporated to make the nearby Landmarked grammar school building accessible. Various fire safety, audio/visual installations and campus ramp projects were integrated to provide full campus accessibility.

This resulting effort forged elegant connections between several portals of entry on the campus, honoring its history and community uses. The renovation of these designated Landmarked buildings required close collaboration with the local neighborhood and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission staff.