15 stellar historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovation projects

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.

HDR, HKS, CannonDesign, Stantec, and SmithGroup top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue related to all healthcare buildings work, including hospitals, medical office buildings, and outpatient facilities.

Rendering of senior living community entryway

Biophilic Design | Oct 4, 2023

Transforming the entry experience with biophilic design

Vessel Architecture & Design's Cassandra Wallace, AIA, NCARB, explores how incorporating biophilic design elements and dynamic lighting can transform a seemingly cavernous entry space into a warm and inviting focal point.

Regulations | Oct 4, 2023

New York adopts emissions limits on concrete

New York State recently adopted emissions limits on concrete used for state-funded public building and transportation projects. It is the first state initiative in the U.S. to enact concrete emissions limits on projects undertaken by all agencies, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

Architects | Oct 4, 2023

Architects and contractors underestimate cyberattack risk

Design and construction industry firms underestimate their vulnerability to cyberattacks, according to a new report, Data Resilience in Design and Construction: How Digital Discipline Builds Stronger Firms by Dodge Construction Network and content security and management company Egnyte.

Belden-Stratford luxury apartments ornate double-height lobby

Luxury Residential | Oct 2, 2023

Chicago's Belden-Stratford luxury apartments gets centennial facelift

The Belden-Stratford has reopened its doors following a renovation that blends the 100-year-old building’s original architecture with modern residences.

Giants 400 | Oct 2, 2023

Top 30 Data Center Architecture Firms for 2023

Corgan, HDR, Gensler, Page Southerland Page, and HED top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest data center sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Market Data | Oct 2, 2023

Nonresidential construction spending rises 0.4% in August 2023, led by manufacturing and public works sectors

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.4% in August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.09 trillion.

Rendering of K-12 magnet school exterior

K-12 Schools | Oct 2, 2023

4 design strategies for successful K-12 magnet schools

Clark Nexsen's Donna Francis, AIA, Principal, and Becky Brady, AIA, share four reasons why diverse K-12 magnet schools require diverse design.

Architects | Sep 28, 2023

Nashville architecture firm ESa adds 14 principals

ESa has announced that 14 new principals have been added to the firm’s leadership. “As ESa continues to grow, we are excited to celebrate our newest ESa principals. These individuals embody the characteristics of a quality leader and have shown great leadership in client and team member relationships, project management and mentoring roles,” said Kevin Harney, ESa vice president and principal.

The newly released Quarterly Construction Cost Insights Report for Q3 2023 from Gordian

Construction Costs | Sep 28, 2023

U.S. construction market moves toward building material price stabilization

The newly released Quarterly Construction Cost Insights Report for Q3 2023 from Gordian reveals material costs remain high compared to prior years, but there is a move towards price stabilization for building and construction materials after years of significant fluctuations. In this report, top industry experts from Gordian, as well as from Gilbane, McCarthy Building Companies, and DPR Construction weigh in on the overall trends seen for construction material costs, and offer innovative solutions to navigate this terrain.

Currently Reading

15 stellar historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and renovation projects

Platinum Awards

Gold Awards

Silver Awards

Everyman Theatre, Baltimore, Md.

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

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

Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Bronze Awards

Oregon Department of Transportation, Salem, Ore.

Wrigley Building, Chicago

Special Recognition

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

2013 Reconstruction Awards Judges

Tags

Giants 400 | Oct 5, 2023

Biophilic Design | Oct 4, 2023

Regulations | Oct 4, 2023

Architects | Oct 4, 2023

Luxury Residential | Oct 2, 2023

Giants 400 | Oct 2, 2023

Market Data | Oct 2, 2023

K-12 Schools | Oct 2, 2023

Architects | Sep 28, 2023

Construction Costs | Sep 28, 2023

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