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.

Effective January 1, 2022, New York City requires garage owners to retain a specially designated professional engineer to conduct an assessment and file a report at least once every six years. Hoffmann Architects + Engineers offers tips and best practices on how to comply with NYC Local Law 126 parking garage inspection rules.

Architects | Oct 20, 2022

Michael Graves Architecture acquires Jose Carballo Architectural Group

Michael Graves Architecture (MG), an award-winning global leader in planning, architecture, and interior design based in Princeton, NJ, announces the acquisition of Jose Carballo Architectural Group (JCAG), a New Jersey-based architecture firm.

Architects | Oct 20, 2022

Woolpert acquires Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects, global experts in mission critical design

Woolpert has acquired Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects, a full-service architecture firm that specializes in mission critical and technically challenging projects, interior design and predesign services for commercial, civic and education clients. SNHA has offices in Chicago and London.

Mixed-Use | Oct 20, 2022

ROI on resilient multifamily construction can be as high as 72%

A new study that measured the economic value of using FORTIFIED Multifamily, a voluntary beyond-code construction and re-roofing method developed by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), found the return can be as high as 72%.

Pictured: 2022 40 Under 40 winner Cheryl Saldanha, PE, CPHD, Senior Project Manager with Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, based on New York City.

40 Under 40 | Oct 19, 2022

Meet the 40 Under 40 class of 2022

Each year, the editors of Building Design+Construction honor 40 architects engineers, contractors, and real estate developers as BD+C 40 Under 40 awards winners. These AEC professionals are recognized for their career achievements, passion for the AEC profession, involvement with AEC industry organizations, and service to their communities.

The Biggest Cybersecurity Threats in Commercial Real Estate, Coleman Wolf, ESD 3410923_1920

BAS and Security | Oct 19, 2022

The biggest cybersecurity threats in commercial real estate, and how to mitigate them

Coleman Wolf, Senior Security Systems Consultant with global engineering firm ESD, outlines the top-three cybersecurity threats to commercial and institutional building owners and property managers, and offers advice on how to deter and defend against hackers.

Designers | Oct 19, 2022

Architecture Billings Index moderates but remains healthy

For the twentieth consecutive month architecture firms reported increasing demand for design services in September, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Building Team | Oct 18, 2022

Brasfield & Gorrie chairman’s home vandalized by anti-development activists

Activists vandalized the home and vehicles of Miller Gorrie, chairman of Birmingham-based Brasfield & Gorrie, in protest of a planned $90 million, 85-acre police, fire and public safety training center in Atlanta.

Mixed-Use | Oct 18, 2022

Mixed-use San Diego tower inspired by coastal experience and luxury travel

The new 525 Olive mixed use San Diego tower was inspired by the coastal experience and luxury travel.

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

Higher Education | Oct 24, 2022

Transportation & Parking Facilities | Oct 20, 2022

Architects | Oct 20, 2022

Architects | Oct 20, 2022

Mixed-Use | Oct 20, 2022

40 Under 40 | Oct 19, 2022

BAS and Security | Oct 19, 2022

Designers | Oct 19, 2022

Building Team | Oct 18, 2022

Mixed-Use | Oct 18, 2022

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