RECONSTRUCTION AEC GIANTS: Restorations breathe new life into valuable older buildings

A year ago, the University of Maryland–Baltimore County, in partnership with Howard Hughes Medical Institute, unveiled a 5,500-sf renovation within its 1970s-era Meyerhoff Chemistry Building.

Now called the Science Learning Collaboratory, the space serves two purposes: as chemistry, biology, and nursing classrooms during the school year; and as a training and research facility for HHMI staff in the summer. The institute provided $1.7 million for the renovation.

TOP RECONSTRUCTION ARCHITECTURE FIRMS

2014 Reconstruction Revenue ($)
1. Stantec $190,976,256
2. HDR $116,007,500
3. HOK $104,137,000
4. Perkins+Will $86,744,700
5. EYP $83,941,804

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TOP RECONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING FIRMS

2014 Reconstruction Revenue ($)
1. WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff $131,401,721
2. Jensen Hughes $91,200,000
3. CRB $76,848,044
4. Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates $67,773,600
5. Thornton Tomasetti $65,527,258

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TOP RECONSTRUCTION CONSTRUCTION FIRMS

2014 Reconstruction Revenue ($)

1. Turner Construction  $2,737,284,000
2. Structure Tone  $2,566,184,600
3. Gilbane Building Co. $1,788,350,000
4. Whiting-Turner $1,369,749,628
5. PCL Construction $1,076,381,683

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Architect/MEP engineer HDR created what it deems “the ultimate flexible space”: the lab can be completely reconfigured by students and faculty within 15 minutes. Benches, in modules of five, are movable and adjustable in height. Each bench has a utility module with quick-disconnect cables.

The lab’s fixed components are located mostly around its periphery. The full-height glass walls can be switched from clear to translucent. Experiments can be broadcast throughout the campus via new cameras and an internal AV system.

Steve Riojas, AIA, who directs HDR’s Science+Technology program, says many of the firm’s recent reconstruction projects have the same requirement: do more with less. “Generally, we are renovating buildings from the ’50s and ’60s, so the trick is to breathe state-of-the-art life into these old facilities,” he says.

This breath of fresh air, says HDR Project Manager Diana Hamlin, AIA, can sometimes provide more usable research area by eliminating traditional corridors and allowing circulation to flow within a lab or office’s “ghost” corridors.

AEC firms generally view renovation as more complex than new construction. “Adaptive reuse is more complicated because you have to forecast every little problem,” says Jackie Gilfillan, Director of Marketing and Development for City Constructors, in Los Angeles, where developers have been spending millions in that city’s downtown to restore buildings from the early 20th century.

City Constructors, which started in 2003 doing loft conversions, has lately struck gold working with the Kor Group to renovate its historic hotels. “These older buildings have a lot of charm that needed to be cleaned and polished,” Gilfillan says.

Sheila Ireland, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP BD+C, Senior Architect with Leo A Daly, says that more clients have come to appreciate their Mid-Century and Brutalist buildings. In the past, such buildings would have been re-skinned or demolished. Ireland says owners are leaning toward renovation versus new construction to retain the “superior quality” of older buildings.

Jessie Bauldry, a Designer in the firm’s Minneapolis–St. Paul office, adds that smaller cities increasingly value historic architecture and favor renovation over demolition.

Bauldry points to one client, Owatonna (Minn.) Public Utilities, which decided to repurpose a power plant that had ceased to be viable after a 2010 flood. That project required laser cloud mapping so that the designers could “understand the structure,” says Bauldry. The building was converted into office space.

In Omaha, Neb., the landmark Burlington Station is being repurposed into studio space for KETV NewsWatch 7. The 117-year-old rail station, originally built to resemble a Greek temple, was last remodeled in the 1930s. It hadn’t seen a passenger since 1974.

Leo A Daly, the project’s primary architect, retained its decorative rosette ceilings and over-the-door grills. Two windows that were filled in with plaster in the ’30s are being saved, albeit as pieces of framed artwork.

The building is being modernized with sophisticated electronic technologies and a new HVAC system.

DEALING WITH UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES

Renovation is sometimes seen by clients as a way to improve their company’s productivity. St. Louis-based architectural firm Remiger Design recently completed design and construction administration on Cass Information Systems’ newly renovated Global Headquarters for Transportation Information Services in Bridgeton, Mo. (Paric Corporation was the GC.)

This renovation completely reorganized the facility’s floor plan, with each department now occupying a dedicated space. Standardized workstations with lower panels and energy-efficient lighting were installed. “Workflow is more productive and employees are not required to move between locations as frequently,” says Remiger’s President, Vern Remiger. A sound-masking system allows for better acoustical privacy between departments.

In Lawrence, Kan., the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas is addressing long-standing accessibility and storage problems with a 30,000-sf makeover, representing about a third of the museum’s total area.

The project will feature a glass-encased entryway that welcomes visitors with natural light; a doubling of the current lobby’s space; new flooring and ceilings in selected galleries; an elevator and staircase connecting the third and fourth floors; and two-story glazing that allows natural light inside the galleries and connects the museum to the historic Marvin Grove.

This project wasn’t made any easier by the university’s decision to keep the museum’s 40,000-plus artworks and artifacts in the building during renovation. They will be stored in three secured gallery spaces controlled for dust, temperature, and humidity, says Gale Lantis, General Manager of Mar Lan Construction, the GC.

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