The hope was that a complete restoration and modernization would bring life back to three neoclassic beauties that formerly served as Phoenix Union High School—but time had not treated them kindly. Built in 1911, one year before Arizona became the country's 48th state, the historic high school buildings endured nearly a century of wear and tear and suffered major water damage and years of termite infestation that severely compromised their wood-frame interior structures. There was considerable hand-wringing over how much of the three-story buildings could be salvaged.
After extensive review, the Building Team devised a $19.6 million program where all three buildings would be saved and reborn as the 84,435-sf University of Arizona College of Medicine. It was precisely that concern for rescuing the trio of buildings that caught our judges' attention. “Reusing three buildings is quite significant. It just isn't something you think to do too often,” says Walker C. Johnson, FAIA, principal at Johnson Lasky Architects in Chicago.
Only one of the three buildings was discovered to be structurally unsound. Its entire wood-frame interior was dismantled and replaced with a steel-frame system. To protect its historic masonry shell, all the work had to be performed through the building's existing window openings. The other two buildings were shored up as necessary, and all three were fitted with new operable, insulated, and historically sensitive windows.
Another concern focused on how best to fit the necessary classroom space and technology required of a 21st-century medical college into turn-of-the-20th-century buildings. When it was discovered that up to 40% of the buildings' available space would be sacrificed to staircases, elevators, and bathrooms (each floor plate is approximately 7,000 sf), the decision was made to locate those elements in newly constructed space—two modern glass “outhouses” (translucent glass wrapped about masonry cubes) connected by glass bridges to two of the buildings. “The additions are unique architectural solutions that don't draw the focus away from the original buildings,” says Jeff Pratt, principal at KJWW Engineering Consultants, Naperville, Ill., and one of BD+C's Reconstruction Award judges.
Additional interior reconfiguration focused on the building's auditorium. While the state's Historic Preservation Office (which had to approve all work) would have liked the auditorium completely restored, the university needed to borrow some of the space for much needed classrooms.
A compromise was reached and a building within a building was erected: one half the space is still used as the auditorium while the other half is classroom space for the state-of-the-art T-Health (telehealth and telemedicine) program. The walls can easily be removed, the space dismantled, and the auditorium returned to its original size. This design feature was lauded by juror K. Nam Shiu, VP at Walker Restoration Consultants, Elgin, Ill., who said, “The work done on the interior is very forward-thinking.”
Related Stories
Contractors | Apr 26, 2018
At Boston University’s dental school, ‘under construction’ won’t mean ‘closed for business’
A major renovation and addition are scheduled to minimize operational disruption.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 14, 2018
How to solve the housing crunch on college campuses
A growing number of public and private academic institutions are turning to designers and architects for alternative housing strategies—particularly in high-density areas on the East and West Coasts.
Hotel Facilities | Mar 6, 2018
A New Hampshire college offers student housing as hotel rooms during the summer
The opening of a new residence hall could help with Plymouth State University’s hospitality marketing.
Higher Education | Dec 11, 2017
Technology and higher ed: The 2030 Challenge
One of the ways in which we are already seeing the use of AR is as an improvement on typical curricula for anatomy in Health Sciences Education.
Engineers | Nov 2, 2017
CannonDesign expands its presence in Colorado with BWG acquisition
Future mergers could be in the offing.
Higher Education | Oct 26, 2017
Where campus meets corporate design
A building is much more than its appearance; it’s how the user will behave inside of it that determines its adaptability.
Adaptive Reuse | Oct 5, 2017
Wexford’s latest innovation center breaks ground in Providence
The campus is expected to include an Aloft hotel.
Higher Education | Sep 18, 2017
Campus landscape planning of the future: A University of Wisconsin-Madison case study
Recognizing that the future health of the campus and lake are interdependent, this innovative approach will achieve significant improvements in stormwater management and water quality within the university’s restored, more connected network of historic and culturally rich landscapes.
University Buildings | Sep 15, 2017
New Blinn College Residence Hall hopes to decrease the size of the campus housing wait list
In 2016, more than 400 students were placed on the wait list due to lack of available on-campus housing.
University Buildings | Sep 5, 2017
Rohrer College of Business supports the schools academic programs with several key spaces
Designed by KSS Architects and Goody Clancy, the new facility opened prior to the fall 2017 school year.