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Winterset Apartments

by askstudio-wp_soho· October 21, 2024· in · 0 comments
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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