Ed Barnhart Email & Phone Number

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Architect Ed Barnhart formed Always by Design in 2005 to realize a more intimate and holistic way of practicing architecture. Ed serves as the single point of contact for each project from start to finish. This assures continuity and completeness, both in process and the final built product. Ed strives to engage all participants of a project – owners, allied professionals, and contractors – intellectually and emotionally to collectively achieve the best possible results and holistic “ownership” in the project.Ultimately, Ed found it to be of greater value to his clients to apply his thirty-plus years of experience to working directly for owners — rather than indirectly, mentoring a staff of lesser experience. Now, as a sole practitioner, he is able to provide exceptional single-source continuity for every project– from conception to completion. For owners, working with Ed means holistic involvement in their project from a “high altitude” down to the smallest of details.The core passion behind AxD is in crafting contemporary homes from the particulars of place, people and purpose. The search to understand the unique circumstances and essential nature underlying each project inspires work that is authentic to our time.

Ed Barnhart founded AxD Gallery in Center-City Philadelphia to showcase non-representational and abstract contemporary visual artwork. The gallery represents artists from Washington D.C. to Montreal. Since opening it received the PGN 2008 award for Best Place to Appreciate Fringe Art, and Philadelphia Citypaper Readers Choice Award of 2007 for Best Art Gallery.

As principal-in-charge, Ed Barnhart authored the master plan for addition and renovations to the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and subsequently completed the East Building addition, new Archives, and four floors of office renovations. He also oversaw the construction of the Hintz Family Alumni Center at Penn State in State College, PA.

Ed Barnhart served as the primary author of the master plan for St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Winston-Salem, NC), cyclical maintenance plan, and space utilization assessment. He developed the master plan for the adaptive reuse of the Frank Furness-designed Knowlton Mansion as a banquet hall. Ed also served as a project manager for several university restorations/renovations including projects at University of Pennsylvania, West Chester University and Stroudsburg University.

Ed Barnhart served as Associate-in-Charge of the renovation and restoration of The Barnes Foundation buildings and grounds, originally designed by Paul Cret in 1924. He also served as the project manager for a new hotel 50 miles north of Tokyo, Japan at the Mielparque Nikko Kirifuri Resort as well as the Stevenson Library addition for Bard College in upstate NY. Ed served as team lead for the detailed design and construction coordination of the roof and skylighting systems for the Sainbury Wing addition to the National Gallery of Art (London, England)

Ed Barnhart worked on a wide range of new institutional facilities, including the Harrisburg International Terminal Building, VA Medical Center Dining Hall in Coatesville, LaSalle University University campus identity plan, Equestrian ICU and Neonatal hospital for University of Pennsylvania, Operations Building for the 327th Tactical Airlift Squadron, as well as new buildings and rehabilitation of existing facilities for the U.S. Postal Service.