The Campus at the time of the Roycroft Movement encompassed six major and eight minor buildings ranging over six acres of contiguous property in the Village of East Aurora, New York. Although the buildings remain for the most part, their ownership is varied and this has fragmented the original Campus into a series of loosely connected holdings with overlapping functions, easements, and relationships. The Master Plan seeks to re-coordinate the original Campus and reassert the interrelationships of the buildings, their grounds, and their infrastructure on the basis of the historical precedent.
The original Power House contained 6500 sq. ft. whenn it was built in 1910 as the heating plant for the entire Campus. After conversion to a church, an office building and, finally, an apartment house, it was destroyed by fire in 1997. This project seeks to re-create the original exterior form of the buildingas it existed in the Roycroft heyday, circa 1915. The interior will be developed in a contemporary mode as a flexible space for Campus activities. A basement will be added to the original first and second floors. Initial uses will include lecture space, a gift shop, and the offices of the Roycroft Campus Corporation.
The original 1000 sq. ft. part of the Copper Shop was built in 1902 as the Campus Blacksmith. Substantial additions were added in 1911 and 1918 when the building evolved into a copper metalworking and finishing shop for the Roycroft community. This project will restore the building to a similar artisan use. The building as it exists today contains 5800 sq. ft. Most space is on the ground floor but there is a small loft over the 1911 addition.
Client: Roycroft Campus Corporation
Location: East Aurora, NY
Completion Date: Power House - Fall 2010, Master Plan - 2021, Copper Shop - 2015 (projected)
