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John Milner Architects has been selected to renovate and design an addition to a c.1905 English Arts and Crafts residence on Philadelphia’s Main Line. The home, located in Merion Station, features a stucco façade over a stone water table and is set off by half-timbered cross gables and a Vermont slate roof. The project team includes Cherokee Construction, Sue Goldstein Interiors and Jim Heller Landscape.
The firm has recently completed the construction documents and bidding phase of a restoration project at the Sacred Heart Oratory, located in Wilmington, Delaware. Designed by the architect Edwin Forrest Durang, the c. 1883 church building’s original steeple had been removed in the mid-20th century and replaced by an inappropriate stainless steel steeple. The scope of the restoration includes the removal of the replacement steeple, extensive masonry restoration, a newly structured steeple roof with a slate finish capped by a reproduction gilded metal cap and cross.
Existing Proposed
This late 19th century Chester County barn and carriage house is being restored and adapted to serve a variety of functions for an active, modern family.
In May 2008, John Milner Architects completed the $38.5 million restoration of the mansion and main vista gardens for the Nemours Mansion and Gardens. Since completing this first phase of restoration work, John Milner Architects has continued to work with the Nemours Mansion and Gardens on the phased implementation of restoration work of the remainder of the buildings, site structures and gardens on their 225-acre property. Current projects includes the following:
Restoration of the Gate House
Roof Restoration of the Laundry Building
Roof Restoration of the Western Lodge 
Restoration of the Carillon Tower Terrace Decks 
John Milner Architects has been engaged to design a new residence on Philadelphia's Main Line in the Jacobean Revival style. The home features a field-stone façade with limestone trim capped by a Vermont black-slate roof. Half-timbered and stucco wings complete the design. The exterior also incorporates salvaged historic elements including oak entry doors, antique hardware and lanterns.
Kutztown University has retained John Milner Architects to prepare a master plan for an area of the campus set aside as an outdoor museum known as the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, including approximately twenty acres and several buildings associated with Pennsylvania German settlers in the region. The mission of the Center is to preserve and educate visitors about Pennsylvania German culture and history, through preservation efforts and educational programming, including folklife festivals, lectures, and seminars. The master plan will include analysis of the existing facilities for their condition and historical value, as well as the best use of those facilities in support of the Center’s activities and programs. As an initial task, the architects, working with structural engineer Andrew Scheerer of Structural Design Associates, specified, coordinated and observed the documentation and dismantling of the historic Merkey Bank Barn in Bethel Township, Pennsylvania. The barn will eventually be reconstructed and repurposed as part of the master plan development at the Center.
Firm members Christina Carter AIA and Mary Werner DeNadai FAIA led a volunteer team, which also included Wallace Roberts & Todd, Thomas Committa Associates and Larsen & Landis Structural Engineers, to produce a Conceptual Plan for Reuse of the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital. Working with the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance (PM&PA), the volunteer team developed a conceptual plan for reuse and redevelopment of the Pennhurst site which incorporates preservation of the architecture and history of the site, including an overall strategy for the site based on historical, architectural and natural features, as well as a programming strategy which fulfills the needs of the surrounding community and the economic feasibility of reusing the site. Opened in 1908 as the Eastern Pennsylvania Institution for the Feeble Minded and Epileptic, Pennhurst was hailed as a model facility for the treatment of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Made famous by a 1968 NBC expose and ensuing Supreme Court litigation that effectively ended the system of forced institutionalization of the disabled worldwide, Pennhurst closed its doors in 1987 and was named an International Site of Conscience in January 2009. The conceptual plan supports the overall PM&PA mission: To advocate for, plan for, facilitate, and coordinate the preservation and adaptive re-use of important places of memory, including the Pennhurst site; To commemorate, honor, and interpret the histories of persons with disabilities, including those persons associated with Pennhurst; To create a place of conscience at Pennhurst that will serve as a repository of memory and a locus of action, both to interpret past struggles for justice and address their contemporary legacies.
John Milner Architects has been retained to plan and design the second phase of a new residential community encompassing five city blocks in Dalian, China. The site is adjacent to a lake-front park and botanical garden, and is an extension of the first phase of the project which is currently under construction. Dalian is a vibrant port city of six million, located in northeastern China facing the Yellow Sea on the east and the Bohai Sea on the west and south. The city is rapidly becoming a major IT and software center, and is home to twelve universities.
John Milner Architects has been engaged to design an Owner's Cottage at Sabuk Lodge, located in Kenya's northern frontier district overlooking the Laikipia Plateau, the Ewaso Nyiro River and Sambura land. The firm is also consulting on the planning and design of a new girls' dormitory and library for the Lobarishereki Primary School under the auspices of the Beads for Education, a program whose mission is to improve the status of women in Kenya through education and fair trade women's businesses.
The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma is located in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Designed by George Howe, of the firm Mellor Meigs & Howe, as an American country house- complete with a residence, artist's studio, farm court, site structures, pastures and gardens. The 106-acre property now serves as the headquarters for The Lord's New Church and the meeting place of the Philadelphia Society. John Milner Architects is working with The Lord's New Church to survey and assess their buildings and to develop a master plan for the future use of both their buildings and site.
Designed by John McArthur, Jr. and completed in 1858, Tenth Presbyterian Church is a historic place of worship in Philadelphia that combines the best of traditional architecture and design with a forward-looking mission to be a transforming presence in the heart of Center City. John Milner Architects is currently working with Tenth Church on renovations and additions to their buildings. Among other things, the project scope includes new ramps, a new passenger elevator connecting 6 levels of two buildings and other accessibility upgrades; the expansion and relocation of the church nurseries; improvements to basement classroom spaces; new service functions such as accessible restrooms and a new kitchenette.
Located in Long Island Sound, about one mile off Sands Point, Long Island, Execution Rocks Lighthouse was originally placed into operation in 1850. The LightTower and Keeper's Dwelling (1867) are built of granite on a protective rip rap artificial island. It continues to be a prominent landmark for boaters and ships using the channel as a shortcut between New England and New York City ports and remains an active navigational signal. The structures have been vacant of habitation for numerous years. The property is now owned by Historically Significant Structures, Inc., a non-profit organization that restores abandoned lighthouses. Plans are currently underway to restore the two remaining structures and to reconstruct a third structure previously destroyed. They will serve as a very unique Bed & Breakfast facility for those wanting to experience spectacular views and an isolated retreat.
John Milner Architects is committed to sustainable design, and is currently working on the design of a new residence that will incorporate insulated concrete form (ICF) technology. The ICF system replaces traditional wood wall and roof framing systems ("stick framing") with engineered concrete components that are not only structurally sound but also achieve significant energy conservation. John Milner Architects is collaborating with Forcine Concrete and Construction Company of Malvern, PA, a pioneer in ICF technology, to merge this innovative system with the principals of traditional architectural design.
The next phase of restoration at The Woodlands is set to begin construction. This phase will include the restoration of the mansion's south facade including completion of the portico restoration project. Also, the first, second, and third floor window frames will be restored and new energy-efficient window sash installed. A vertical lift and other accesibility upgrades will also be installed. The Woodlands estate, built as the eighteenth century country seat of William Hamilton, became one of the early suburban cemeteries in the United States during the nineteenth century. Both the mansion and cemetery have been declared National Historic Landmarks. John Milner Architects prepared an historic structure report and oversaw the first phase of the restoration, which included installing a steel structure, making structural improvements to the stone portico base, and replacing the badly deteriorated twenty-foot columns and bases while restoring the original wood Tuscan capitals.
 
John Milner Architects is involved in a number of Historic Federal Building projects including the following:
- Robert N. C. Nix, Sr. Federal Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Preservation consultants to PSA Dewberry and GSA.
- Clarkson S. Fisher Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Trenton, New Jersey. Preservation consultants to PSA Dewberry.
- U.S. Courthouse and Federal Office Building, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Preservation consultants to PSA Dewberry.
- Federal Office Building, Huntingdon, West Virginia. Preservation consultants to PSA Dewberry.
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