Gensler recently completed a major renovation of the 1926 Julia Ideson Building - one of Houston's grandest public buildings and the former main public library.
The $32 million renovation resulted from a dynamic public/private partnership between the City of Houston and the non-profit Julia Ideson Library Preservation Partners (JILPP). The "new" building will serve as a repository of Houston memorabilia and rare archival material as well as the city's official reception space and a venue for exhibits, meetings and other special events.
Gensler served as architect, Balfour Beatty US was the project's contractor, and TBG Partners served as landscape architects.
Originally designed by noted Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram, the building is an outstanding example of the Spanish Renaissance-style replete with polychrome painted ceilings, intricate woodwork, marble columns and lofty public spaces. Cram's design included a south wing and a reading garden which were never realized due to budget cuts. The "new" Ideson has a south wing that is true to Cram's original design as well as a reading garden.
The restoration was executed with painstaking detail on both the interior and exterior. The project included: a new roof, replacements for missing cast stone pieces, a reconfigured and re- landscaped plaza that was careful to preserve the champion bur oaks and a new fence similar to the one shown in Cram & Ferguson's 1923 presentation drawings.
On the inside, the intricately painted and coffered ceilings in the public rooms were restored. Historic light fixtures were re-lamped and reproduction fixtures were added in spaces that had no original lighting. Ornamental iron and metal work was refurbished. Tile, wood and stone floors were repaired and refinished.
Most of the furniture in the public spaces is original to the library or to the 1904 Carnegie Library that preceded it. The built-in bookcases in the second floor Reading Room and the hand-carved children's furniture featuring fairy-tale scenes in the Norma Meldrum Room on the first floor are original.
Paintings and sculptures throughout are from the Houston Public Library's collection. Many of the works were previously displayed in the Ideson and/or Carnegie libraries. The Ideson contains the city's largest installation of public murals completed under the Works Progress Administration program after the Depression.
The Ideson building is among the first Texas Historic Landmark projects on track for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. An efficient air-handling system and recycled and low-emitting construction materials are key components of the sustainable design that was created by Gensler in partnership with MEP engineers Redding Linden Burr. BD+C
Related Stories
| Sep 11, 2012
Ecosystem Management & Associates joins HDR
EM&A staff will do business as part of HDR Engineering and HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction.
| Sep 10, 2012
Specialty door types—plenty of functional variety
In the MasterFormat section 08 30 00, Specialty Doors and Frames, a number of door types are listed for special functions, access locations, sliding and folding hardware, and even pressure-resistant types.
| Sep 7, 2012
7 Do's and Don'ts for PV roof rack installation
As PVs grow in popularity, nearly half of all installations require roof rack systems. Our expert tells how to do the job right and protect your client’s roof.
| Sep 7, 2012
Net-zero energy pioneers on the el-hi frontier
Getting to net-zero is not easy, but the promise of eliminating energy bills and using state-of-the-art technology as a learning lab can make a compelling case to reach for net-zero.
| Sep 7, 2012
Healthcare architects get a preview of tomorrow’s medical landscape
The topic on everyone’s mind was how the Affordable Care Act would impact healthcare design and construction––and whether the law would even make it past the coming election cycle.
| Sep 7, 2012
Goettsch Partners designs new tower in Abu Dhabi
Al Hilal Bank’s 24-story flagship development provides contemporary office space.
| Sep 7, 2012
Suffolk awarded One Channel Center project in Boston
Firm to manage $125 million, 525,000-sf office building project.
| Sep 7, 2012
Duffy joins Thornton Tomasetti
At Hardesty & Hanover, Duffy partnered with Thornton Tomasetti on a number of projects.
| Sep 7, 2012
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital breaks ground on expansion
Sustainability and nature at the heart of the new addition at the Stanford University Medical Center designed by Perkins+Will.
| Sep 6, 2012
Young Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture award to Tiina Antinoja
The award is given for a student work in which wood as a building material has a central role.