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.

The U.S. Green Building Council, Green Business Certification Inc., and the International WELL Building Institute released a streamlined process for projects pursuing certifications for the LEED green building rating system and the WELL Building Standard. The new protocol simplifies documentation for projects that are pursuing both certifications at the same time or that have already earned one certification and are looking to add the other.

K-12 Schools | Apr 18, 2023

ASHRAE offers indoor air quality guide for schools

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a guide for educators, administrators, and school districts on indoor air quality. The guide can be used as a tool to discuss options to improve indoor air quality based on existing HVAC equipment, regional objectives, and available funding.

Data Centers | Apr 14, 2023

JLL's data center outlook: Cloud computing, AI driving exponential growth for data center industry

According to JLL’s new Global Data Center Outlook, the mass adoption of cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) is driving exponential growth for the data center industry, with hyperscale and edge computing leading investor demand.

Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2023

Healthcare construction costs for 2023

Data from Gordian breaks down the average cost per square foot for a three-story hospital across 10 U.S. cities.

Higher Education | Apr 13, 2023

Higher education construction costs for 2023

Fresh data from Gordian breaks down the average cost per square foot for a two-story college classroom building across 10 U.S. cities.

K-12 Schools | Apr 13, 2023

Creating a sense of place with multipurpose K-12 school buildings

Multipurpose buildings serve multiple program and functional requirements. The issue with many of these spaces is that they tend not to do any one thing well.

Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2023

Urgent care facilities: Intentional design for mental and behavioral healthcare

The emergency department (ED) is the de-facto front door for behavior health crises, and yet these departments are understaffed, overwhelmed, and ill-equipped to navigate the layered complexities of highly demanding physical and behavioral health needs.

Located in the Arts District of Los Angeles the new office of Califia Farms is a block from the company’s original inception point. Photo by SLAM.

Office Buildings | Apr 13, 2023

L.A. headquarters for startup Califia Farms incorporates post-pandemic hybrid workplace design concepts

The new Los Angeles headquarters for fast-growing Califia Farms, a brand of dairy alternative products, was designed by SLAM with the post-Covid hybrid work environment in mind. Located in Maxwell Coffee House, a historic production facility built in 1924 that has become a vibrant mixed-use complex, the office features a café bordered by generous meeting rooms.

Trends in Urban Design, with James Corner Field Operations

Urban Planning | Apr 12, 2023

Watch: Trends in urban design for 2023, with James Corner Field Operations

Isabel Castilla, a Principal Designer with the landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations, discusses recent changes in clients' priorities about urban design, with a focus on her firm's recent projects.

University of Michigan’s DART Laboratory unveils Shell Wall 3D-printed concrete wall technology

3D Printing | Apr 11, 2023

University of Michigan’s DART Laboratory unveils Shell Wall—a concrete wall that’s lightweight and freeform 3D printed

The University of Michigan’s DART Laboratory has unveiled a new product called Shell Wall—which the organization describes as the first lightweight, freeform 3D printed and structurally reinforced concrete wall. The innovative product leverages DART Laboratory’s research and development on the use of 3D-printing technology to build structures that require less concrete.

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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

Green | Apr 18, 2023

K-12 Schools | Apr 18, 2023

Data Centers | Apr 14, 2023

Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2023

Higher Education | Apr 13, 2023

K-12 Schools | Apr 13, 2023

Healthcare Facilities | Apr 13, 2023

Office Buildings | Apr 13, 2023

Urban Planning | Apr 12, 2023

3D Printing | Apr 11, 2023

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