Until July 2004, 200 East Brady, a 40,000-sf, 1920s-era warehouse, had been an abandoned eyesore in Tulsa, Okla.'s Brady district. The building, which was once home to a grocery supplier, then a steel casting company, and finally a casket storage facility, was purchased by Tom Wallace, president and founder of Wallace Engineering, to be his firm's new headquarters. Wallace's firm did the structural engineering, working with Tulsa-based Selser Schaefer Architects to bring the building back to life on a $3.6 million budget.
Though Tom Wallace had grand plans for the 75-year-old building, the west exterior wall was crumbling away, the first floor slab was cracked, and the roof, windows, and entries were in dire need of attention. Luckily, the structural frame was stable, which made it possible to preserve as much of the original warehouse character as possible, including three concrete and brick exterior walls, complete with faded painted signs. The original steel sash windows were repaired and fitted with double-paned, low-e glass. The damaged west wall was removed and replaced with a steel-framed curtain wall façade, providing a new entry for the building and allowing for natural light. The roof was not only repaired and insulated with a protected membrane system, but 20,000 sf was set aside for a possible roof garden. “To not alter the building drastically was a nice touch,” says Reconstruction Awards judge K. Nam Shiu, P.E., S.E., of Walker Restoration Consultants, Elgin, Ill.
The interior of the building maintains the industrial atmosphere that the exterior suggests, while also providing a bright and modern workspace for the firm's employees. To expand on the natural light that the new west wall façade introduced, old interior partitions were replaced with glass ones and all exposed concrete was painted white. The floor plan consists of open studios, principals' offices on two sides, utility/core space, and a storage unit.
This renovation is the first of its kind in the Brady district, and Wallace Engineering hopes that it will inspire others to rebuild the neighborhood.
Related Stories
Lighting | Aug 2, 2017
Dynamic white lighting mimics daylighting
By varying an LED luminaire’s color temperature, it is possible to mimic daylighting, to some extent, and the natural circadian rhythms that accompany it, writes DLR Group’s Sean Avery.
Office Buildings | Aug 1, 2017
Corporate values as workplace drivers
Connecting personal values to company values is important to millennial workers.
K-12 Schools | Aug 1, 2017
This new high school is the first to be built on a tech company’s campus
Design Tech High School, located on Oracle Corporation’s Headquarters campus, will span 64,000 sf across two stories and have a capacity of 550 students.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jul 31, 2017
New Jersey office building will undergo ‘live-work-play’ renovation
The 100,000-sf building is part of a three-building, 30-acre campus.
Office Buildings | Jul 27, 2017
*UPDATED* This will be the largest flight training center in Europe and the Middle East
The center will cover about 30,000 sm and feature 18 simulators.
Office Buildings | Jul 26, 2017
Meeting space leads to innovation
PDR Principal Larry Lander explains how to design for workplaces where four generations are working together.
Office Buildings | Jul 20, 2017
SGA uses virtual design and construction technology to redevelop N.Y. building into modern offices
287 Park Avenue South is a nine-story Classical Revival building previously known as the United Charities Building.
Office Buildings | Jul 19, 2017
James Corner Field Operations, designers of the High Line, creates rooftop amenity spaces for three Dumbo office buildings
The new spaces range from about 8,500 to 11,000 sf and were added to Two Trees Management’s anchor office buildings.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jul 18, 2017
Mortenson Construction incorporates 100-year-old barn into new Portland office space
Mortenson deconstructed the barn and repurposed it for the new space.
Office Buildings | Jul 12, 2017
CetraRuddy unveils seven-story office building design for Staten Island’s Corporate Park
Corporate Commons Three is expected to break ground later this summer.
