flexiblefullpage -
billboard - default
interstitial1 - interstitial
catfish1 - bottom
Currently Reading

15 stellar historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovation projects

15 stellar historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovation projects

Meet the winners of Building Design+Construction's 2013 Reconstruction Awards


By BD+C Editor | October 30, 2013
Historic preservation adaptive reuse project: 510 Fifth Reno
Historic preservation adaptive reuse project: 510 Fifth Reno

The winners of the 2013 Reconstruction Awards showcase the best work of distinguished Building Teams, encompassing historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovations and additions.

 

 

 

 

 

Platinum Awards

 

Nation's first glass curtain wall exterior restored in San Francisco

The Hallidie Building's glass-and-steel skin is generally recognized as the forerunner of today’s curtain wall facilities. Read the story.
 
 
 
 

 

High-rise Art Deco courthouse gets a makeover in Amarillo, Texas

Recognized as one of the most significant Art Deco courthouses in Texas, the Potter County Courthouse is modernized and restored to its 1930s aesthetic. Read the story.
 
 
 
 

 

Toronto Maple Leafs arena converted to university recreation facility

Using steel reinforcement and massive box trusses, a Building Team methodically inserts four new floors in the landmark arena while preserving and restoring its historic exterior. Read the story.
 
 
 

 

Gold Awards

Cass Gilbert's landmark St. Louis Central Library gets a reboot

A $70 million project returns large sections of the building to their original Beaux Arts beauty, while modernizing the spaces to make them more inviting and useful for today’s patrons. Read the story.
 
 
 
 

From power plant to office: Ambler Boiler House conversion

The shell of a 19th-century industrial plant is converted into three levels of modern office space. Read the story.
 
 
 
 
 

SOM gets second crack at iconic modernist structure in New York

More than 50 years after SOM completed the Manufacturers Hanover Trust building, the firm is asked to restore and modernize the space. Read the story.
 
 
 
 
 

Statue of Liberty update brings patrons closer to the action

While past renovation and restoration work on Liberty Island received more fanfare, the latest update arguably has had a greater impact on the three million people that visit the monument each year. Read the story.
 
 
 

 

Silver Awards

 

Manhattan's landmark Marble Collegiate Church modernized

Marble Collegiate Church, built in 1854 on a dirt road, is now surrounded by a densely populated Manhattan neighborhood. Gaining national recognition during the 52-year tenure of Norman Vincent Peale, the Romanesque Revival landmark still serves more than 2,200 congregants. Read the story.
 
 
 
 
 

Everyman Theatre, Baltimore, Md.

The Baltimore structure that opened as the Empire Theatre in 1911 has seen stints as a vaudeville house, burlesque theater, cinema, bingo parlor, boxing venue, adult-movie theater, and parking garage. In 1990, the dilapidated building was abandoned. Everyman Theatre—a professional repertory company—took possession 16 years later through a $1 transfer from the Bank of America and the Harold A. Dawson Trust. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 
 
 

Conrad B. Duberstein U.S. Bankruptcy Courthouse, Brooklyn, N.Y.

The narrative of this exterior restoration centers on the sheer scale of the project. The six-year, $61.7 million effort involved meticulously inspecting, cataloging, and restoring more than 75,000 sf of granite and terra cotta cladding. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 
 
 

Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Federal Building, Washington, D.C.

The District of Columbia, famed for neoclassical landmarks, also has its share of modernist behemoths. The Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Federal Building is typical—more than half a million square feet in a nine-story structure occupying most of a city block. Built in 1965 for the FDA, the laboratory facility was recently transformed into green, Class A office space for several federal tenants, incorporating some bold interior changes and a thoughtful exterior upgrade. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 
 
 

Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

In Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Follies,” an aging chorine sings of life’s ups and downs, punctuated by the refrain “I’m still here.” The phrase would be a fitting theme for the Paramount Theatre of Cedar Rapids, Iowa—a beloved building that has survived an entertainment revolution, economic upheavals, and a natural disaster. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 

 

Bronze Awards

 

Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, Ore.

Oregon’s Department of Transportation occupies one of the last state government facilities in Salem to receive an energy and seismic retrofit. The 1951 structure has been transformed with a reconstruction that significantly improved efficiency and occupant comfort. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 
 
 

Wrigley Building, Chicago

The Wrigley Building, erected in two phases in the early 1920s, has always been a jewel of Chicago’s busy Michigan Avenue. The building’s two towers are connected by a 14th-floor bridge, but few passersby would know that the original design intent was to have an open plaza between the towers. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 

 

Special Recognition

 

‘Daylighting’ the Saw Mill River at Larkin Plaza, Yonkers, N.Y.

A “daylighting” plan uncovered the Saw Mill River and made it the centerpiece of a new public park, restoring a long-absent feature of downtown Yonkers, N.Y. Read the story. (TO COME)
 
 
 

 

2013 Reconstruction Awards Judges

 
 
Judges for Building Design+Construction’s 30th Annual Reconstruction Awards (left to right): Bonnie McDonald, K. Nam Shiu, Rick Juneau, Daniel Doyle, Walker Johnson, Stephen Martinez, Gary Keclik. Not pictured: Martha Bell
 
 
HONORARY CHAIR
Walker C. Johnson, FAIA
Principal
Johnson Lasky Architects
Chicago, Ill.
 
DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS
Martha Bell, FAIA, LEED AP
Principal
Tilton, Kelly + Bell
Chicago, Ill.
 
Daniel L. Doyle, PE, LEED AP O+M
President
Grumman/Butkus Associates
Evanston, Ill.
 
Rick Juneau, LEED AP
President, Residential & Restoration
Bulley & Andrews
Chicago, Ill.
Gary B. Keclik, AIA, CSI, GGA, LEED AP
Principal Architect
Keclik Associates
Hoffman Estates, Ill.
 
Stephen L. Martinez, LEED AP
Senior VP,  Project Management & Development Services
Transwestern
Chicago, Ill.
 
Bonnie McDonald
President
Landmarks Illinois
Chicago, Ill.
 
K. Nam Shiu, SE, PE
Senior VP, Director of Restoration Services
Walker Restoration Consultants
Chicago, Ill.

Related Stories

K-12 Schools | Feb 13, 2024

K-12 school design trends for 2024: health, wellness, net zero energy 

K-12 school sector experts are seeing “healthiness” for schools expand beyond air quality or the ease of cleaning interior surfaces. In this post-Covid era, “healthy” and “wellness” are intersecting expectations that, for many school districts, encompass the physical and mental wellbeing of students and teachers, greater access to outdoor spaces for play and learning, and the school’s connection to its community as a hub and resource.

Office Buildings | Feb 13, 2024

Creating thoughtful tech workplace design

It’s important for office design to be inspiring, but there are some practical principles that can be incorporated into the design of real-world tech workplaces to ensure they convey an exciting, sophisticated allure that accommodates progressive thinking and inventiveness.

Airports | Feb 13, 2024

New airport terminal by KPF aims to slash curb-to-gate walking time for passengers

The new Terminal A at Zayed International Airport in the United Arab Emirates features an efficient X-shape design with an average curb-to-gate walking time of just 12 minutes. The airport terminal was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), with Arup and Naco as engineering leads.

Higher Education | Feb 9, 2024

Disability and architecture: ADA and universal design at college campuses

To help people with disabilities feel part of the campus community, higher education institutions and architects must strive to create settings that not only adhere to but also exceed ADA guidelines.

Codes | Feb 9, 2024

Illinois releases stretch energy code for building construction

Illinois is the latest jurisdiction to release a stretch energy code that provides standards for communities to mandate more efficient building construction. St. Louis, Mo., and a few states, including California, Colorado, and Massachusetts, currently have stretch codes in place.

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 10 Telecommunications Building Architecture Firms for 2023

Arcadis North America, CSArch, Interior Architects, and TETER top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest telecommunications building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 50 Public Library Architecture Firms for 2023

Quinn Evans, McMillan Pazdan Smith, PGAL, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and Gensler top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest public library architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 60 Performing Arts Center and Concert Venue Architecture Firms for 2023

Populous, DLR Group, Gensler, HGA, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest performing arts center and concert venue architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.  

Giants 400 | Feb 8, 2024

Top 70 Museum Architecture Firms for 2023

SmithGroup, Gensler, Ayers Saint Gross, Quinn Evans, HGA, and Cooper Robertson head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest museum and gallery architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.  

Architects | Feb 8, 2024

LPA President Dan Heinfeld announced retirement

LPA Design Studios announced the upcoming retirement of longtime president Dan Heinfeld, who led the firm’s growth from a small, commercial development-focused architecture studio into a nation-leading integrated design practice setting new standards for performance and design excellence.

boombox1 - default
boombox2 -
native1 -

More In Category


Mass Timber

Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.



halfpage1 -

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021