Rejuvenating a Lower Manhattan icon from the inside out, MBB helped Trinity Church Wall Street refocus its 1840s building around worship and music—and become more sustainable. Reconciling modern technology and program needs with historic integrity, the comprehensive, six-year project includes restored architecture and ornament; a newly accessible chancel, altar and churchyard landscape; a higher-performing building envelope; new interior and exterior lighting; new clerestory windows; renovated clergy and choir rooms; three new organs; accessible bluestone terraces, improved acoustics, and concealed A/V equipment for services and concerts. Starting with an intensive research process that engaged the Trinity Church community, our team designed and implemented a comprehensive restoration and renovation plan to address seven decades of deferred maintenance and meet contemporary program and space needs. The neo-Gothic building—the third to stand on the site—designed by Richard Upjohn, welcomes congregants and millions of annual visitors with improved accessibility and sustainability. Hidden complexity was resolved through careful planning and design, such as in providing an accessible route to the altar and re-routing all electrical infrastructure through underfloor trenches and ceiling cavities, thereby liberating the original brownstone columns, reducing visual clutter and restoring architectural coherence to the nave.
