About J&M

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The consulting practice of J&M Preservation Studio is a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) that offers professional architectural and engineering services in the general domain of historic and existing buildings to a diverse array of clients. J&M Preservation Studio was founded in 2013 by Jessica Senker, AIA, and Melanie Rodbart, PE, as a successor firm to S. Harris Ltd. (SHL). The founding of such a women-owned firm that provides both architectural and structural engineering services within the historic preservation field is extraordinarily unique to the Philadelphia region.

Combined, the founders have dedicated over twenty-five years to design and historic preservation. The women trained with the late, Samuel Y. Harris. Harris, who was a leader in the field having combined degrees in architecture, engineering, and law with extensive experience in historic preservation, construction, and planning—provided an extraordinary level of expertise.

 

Our goal is to continue to provide a level of expertise unequaled in the field of preservation architecture and engineering. It is our policy to provide services consistent with the Secretary of the Interior’s “Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties” for all historical projects. The operating philosophy at J&M Preservation Studio is simply that our clients are our most valued assets. The firm perceives its role as that of guide and advisor, hired to assist our clients through the process of problem solving and execution. Our job is to research the presented need or dilemma, outline all reasonable and available options, array the options in a way that assists the client in making an informed decision, and then to abide by the client’s decision as diligently as though it were our own. J&M has the low cost overhead and flexibility of a small company, coupled with the experience and staff necessary to respond to the individual needs and projects of our clients.

Our principals have provided technical and advisory services for the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, Asbury Park Convention Hall, the US Army Reserve, the City of Philadelphia, various State of Pennsylvania and New Jersey agencies, and multiple private institutions. Ms. Rodbart is licensed as a civil engineer and Ms. Senker is a registered architect, focusing on historic preservation work. Both principals are LEED GA accredited, and are members of local preservation and technical boards of directors.

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Our team

Jessica H. Senker

Jessica H. Senker

Principal

AIA, Historic Preservation Specialist, LEED Green Associate
Read Jessica’s full bio…

Melanie K. Rodbart

Melanie K. Rodbart

Principal

PE, M.ASCE, LEED GA
Read Melanie’s full bio…

Portfolio

Click the images to learn more about our work. Project information will open below the image.

Eastern State Penitentiary

Eastern State Penitentiary

  • Category: Roofing
  • Client: Eastern State Penitentiary

Opened in 1829 as part of a controversial movement to change the behavior of inmates through “confinement in solitude with labor,” the massive stone structure became one of the most expensive and most copied buildings in America. More than 300 prisons worldwide are based on the Penitentiary’s radial or “wagon-wheel” floor plan.
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222 W. Rittenhouse Square

222 W. Rittenhouse Square

  • Category: Structural Stabilization
  • Client: Sentinel Real Estate Corporation

Designed by Horace Trumbauer in the Lombardic Romanesque style, 1928. 222 West Rittenhouse Square is a fully functioning and occupied twenty-seven story residential high rise building. It is steel framed and clad in yellow brick with aluminum windows throughout. At 320 feet above grade, the chateau boasts a green Spanish tile hipped roof topped with copper clad spires. Ornate terra cotta and limestone details decorate the façade.
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St. Peter’s Church

St. Peter’s Church

  • Category: Roofing
  • Client: St. Peter's Church

St. Peter’s Church opened in 1761, and served as a place of worship for many of the United States’ Founding Fathers. The church is mid-Georgian auditory in style and retains its original box pews. The exterior is red brick masonry with decorative white molding surrounding the doors and windows. The sanctuary is crowned by an ornate denticular cornice. In 1842, a crenelated tower and white clapboard steeple were added.
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Elder Hall

Elder Hall

  • Category: Roofing
  • Client: PA Department of General Services

Elder Hall Training Academy is operated by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC), and is located in Elizabethtown,PA. Originally constructed as the State Hospital for Crippled Children, it was designed by Thomas, Martin & Kirkpatrick Architects. The majority of the building was built in 1925 (operational in 1930), and then two wings were added in on the south side of the building in 1941. The building functioned as the hospital until the 1980s when it was converted a training facility for the Department of Corrections.
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Pennsylvania Hospital

Pennsylvania Hospital

  • Category: Roofing
  • Client: Pennsylvania Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Health Systems

Construction began on Pennsylvania Hospital’s Pine Building, the nation’s first hospital, in 1755 and was completed in 1802. The masonry structure was designed by Samuel Rhodes and retains its historic library, central court, surgical amphitheater and grand façade.
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Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel

Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel

  • Category: Conditions Assessment
  • Client: Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel

The Schaeffer-Ashmead Chapel is located on the campus of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at 7301 Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia, PA. The chapel was constructed in 1902 in schist masonry and has a bell tower at the northwest corner of the building.
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Contact us





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    105 Rutgers Avenue, #244
    Swarthmore, PA 19081

    Center City Location:
    Bond Collective
    1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Suite 2008
    Philadelphia, PA 19103

    info@JMPreservation.com

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    215-769-1133

    215-769-1173
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