Rural Life Museum – Mars Hill University

Montague Hall is a charming stone building, located in the heart of the Mars Hill University campus. Constructed in 1918 and renovated in the 1930’s, Montague Hall served as the college library until 1955. In the 1970’s the building was renovated for its new use as a Rural Life Museum.

While the museum was a success for many years, the roofing and HVAC systems were failing, and the museum was actually closed prior to 2008, when Mars Hill commissioned our firm to design the renovation to restore the building to a fully functioning museum.

We studied photos and drawings of the original building and designed a renovation that restored certain historical features, such as the steel sash windows and original interior plaster finishes, while optimizing the space for its use as a museum. Our renovation design also brought certain aspects of the building into the 21st century through new HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, and the addition of accessible facilities.

General Contractor: Carolina Cornerstone Construction
Structural Engineer: Kloesel Engineering
MEP Engineer: Essential Systems Engineering