The Willards-Hopkins Rehabilitation consists of the rehab and adaptive reuse of two historic masonry structures, each estimated to have been originally constructed in 1868. The Willards building was a furrier doing fur trading throughout the area and the Hopkins was a Main Street commercial space with peculiarly small private “offices” on two levels above. It is local lore that the small “offices” were social meeting spaces for the trappers when they brought pelts and hides to the furrier. The use of a Main Street building for a house of ill-repute seems foreign, but social norms have changed in the 150 plus years these buildings have been sentries on the Main Street of Marshalltown Iowa. While being two distinctly separate buildings both in configuration and style, the structures had to be configured as one consolidated building for the purpose of complying with modern building codes. The ground floor at Main Street remains commercial space as it has been for over a century and a half. The upper floors have been converted to apartments in sizes and configurations respectful to maintaining nearly all existing walls and openings. The design was to serve as more of rehabilitation than an apologetic adaptive reuse… The […]
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The Winterset Highschool Apartments is the adaptive reuse of the original 1921 high school building into twenty-seven senior living apartments. Originally constructed as the town school, the building was most recently occupied by the school administrative services but was left vacant in 2018. With skepticism over its future life, it became clear that restoration was the only answer. The historic structure featured a classic, symmetrical configuration in the collegiate gothic revival style. Previous, less historically conscious alterations completed in the sixties had proven to leave the spatial character of the interiors somewhat diminished. Room reconfigurations, acoustical ceiling tile, added materials/layers, and the detrimental replacement of the original windows with half glazed, half spandrel aluminum windows made the focus of the rehabilitation clear: Rejuvenate the latent, historic character through preserving, and where necessary, recreating the spatial volume and light that were originally experienced. Spaces originally used as classrooms have been converted to apartments, leveraging the proportions and availability of windows to require minimal alterations. The auditorium and primary circulation spaces were preserved/rehabilitated, while the gymnasium was creatively converted through insertion of a partial floor level. This allowed for the possibility of stacked units where natural light could be capitalized on and […]
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The James on Grand The James on Grand is a 56-unit luxury active adult community built in Des Moines, Iowa. The 56,000 SF structure is programmed private community although it shares a site with a community that serves both assisted living and independent living residents. The building is a four-story wood structure over 72 parking stalls in a subgrade precast garage. The design puts and emphasis on the urban living with community amenities. The tight site required that views be created for many units through the design of an exterior courtyard that features dining spaces and outdoor gathering around a fireplace feature. The units are all designed with floor to ceiling windows to engage the surrounding neighborhood and the mature trees. The living experience is focused on this unique fenestration and the unique feeling of openness and light created by this feature. The project boasts amenities including remote work spaces, a lounge with a billiards bar and a fitness area that rivals club equipment. The James on Grand is focused on urban living rewards. . Location: Des Moines, IA Program: Multi-Family Area: 56,000 SF Photo Credits: Cameron Campbell Integrated Studio
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The building was originally designed as a bank. The Brenton Banks were a family owned chain of successful financial institutions known for embracing the formalism and narrative of modern architecture. The Brenton, as the building is now aptly named, is not simply modern. It is New Formalism, a style which emerged in the 1960s as a rejection to the rigid form of Modernism. The style represents one of many 20th century efforts to wed the building forms of the past with new forms enabled by new material technologies. New Formalist buildings embraced many Classical precedents such as building proportion and scale, classical columns, highly stylized entablatures, and colonnades. Here the style was representative of banking and business much like Neo Classism was the language of commerce for centuries before. The introduction of a residential program into a classically gridded temple of commerce had elements that inserted easily, but the introduction of foreign systems like increasing the number of plumbing fixtures ten-fold required careful consideration, especially at the Teller Lobby. The lobby is a space critical to understanding the buildings hierarchy of space and structural grid. The office areas at each end of the buildings were refitted to living units, including […]
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The Roosevelt High School was built in 1888 in Clinton Iowa. It had been patinaed with over 120 of constant use when the local school district deemed it too expensive to use and maintain. A developer who had decade before restored nearby Louis Sullivan building, sought out the building to give it new life as affordable housing. She referred to the building as having great bones. The architects were more than thrilled to help repurpose the building and without pause informed her that “those bones” were solid and ready for another hundred years. The challenges were numerous and the rules simple. Respect. The charge of the design team was the insertion of 16 apartments within a school containing about 14,000-square feet and 7 classrooms and a large gathering area space while maintaining the integrity of the existing walls and spaces. (Each unit containing a washer/dryer, individual HVAC units, bath and kitchen fans and no penetrations through the historic brick envelope.) The process utilized ALL historic walls and left the main hall unchanged. The second floor utilized units with mezzanine level bedrooms to squeeze in all of the possible living area in while respecting the beautiful two-story window units. A special […]
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The Grand Prix renovation is an exemplary exercise in finding a structure’ architectural strengths in order to give it a marketable appeal. While it could simply be seen as a make-over, the process was one of respectful deconstruction rather than an applique of cosmetic layers. The project began with a recognition of proportion. The number of moves made was determined by the mundanity of budget. The Proportions were preserved, framed and highlighted. Faux mansards. Removed. Unappealing railing were retained…deemphasized. The materials were selected to be economical - black for drama and wood for warmth. This building is giving new life and new appeal. The retention of a built environment in a throw-away society is s sustainable success. The project is simple, but thoughtful. It is found architecture. Location: Des Moines, IA Program: Apartments Area: 8,931 SF Client: Newbury Living Photo Credits: Cameron Campbell Integrated Studio
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The design for the lobby space in a half-century old apartment building began with a room that was too small and lacked any definition of the place. The design solution was based on layering, lightness and focus. With a limited budget, all the ills of the space would need to be challenged with paint, flooring and an architectural millwork element. The space was made to feel larger with the layering effect and the unfocused planes were aligned and given import through signage and color. The white of the screen and the floor gave the room an identity and focus that is punctuated by the crown graphic that represents the Imperial Apartments. Given the derisory budget and the resulting limited moves allowed to redefine this simple space, the millwork screen needed to be perfect in execution. It is the layer, light and focus. It is the art. It is the singular move. Working with Tom Simmons Custom Woodworking made the design succeed. A craftsman who understood the details of detachment at the base and the top…There was an immediate appreciation for the design and its intricacies. There were not numerous phone calls and emails regarding how it could be made “easier.” […]
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The design of the Bridges Lofts is based on capitalizing on the qualities of a site: it affords views of the Mississippi and is visible from thousands of vehicles crossing the bridge every day. The design is also guided by the principles of new urbanism. Fundamentally, the project increases the density of the city core, advancing the discernable center. It creates an urban edge that focuses on the building rather than parking. It engages the street with diversity of purpose. It’s introduction to the community was a catalyst for change in downtown Bettendorf. The building has a commercial and parking base with 4 stories of dwellings above. The building is a saw-toothed “U” shape which affords views toward the river for nearly 80% of the 132 units. The center of the “U” is home to green space commons and a swimming pool. The building beckons the city with attention grabbing geometry. It engages the neighborhood through a human scale with balconies and commerce on State Street, and finally, creates an internal community engagement with an organization around the green space commons and a spectacular rooftop patio. Focusing on site attributes has produced a building that is a success as a […]
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The Village on Main is a three story, 50-unit affordable housing structure on the west side of the Village of Waunakee. It represents the first project of its type in Waunakee and is a part of the village’s primary east west corridor. The project takes cues from the classic ‘main street’ America. While budget is always the primary concern for affordable housing, this does not mean that affordable buildings should look affordable. Economy is achieved through simplicity, efficiency, and the uncommon uses of common materials. Patio doors are used to frame views of the neighboring wetland. Single hung windows in pairs and trifectas draw light into units and diversify fenestration in an unexpected manner. The structure is situated as far south on the site as zoning ordinances would allow due to wetland constraints. The resultant footprint is a long double loaded corridor. The building frontage along the primary traffic corridor is punctuated by multiple colors and textures of siding. Every color change is accompanied by a parapet height change. The result is a welcome; welcome to the Village. Location: Waunakee, WI Program: Multi-Family Residential Area: 16,727 SF Client: Cohen-Esrey Photo Credits: Joseph Kastner
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