Preservation

As if it’s not clear throughout this website, we like to give old buildings a new life and new reality.

Perhaps the place has been de-accessioned or become unstable, fire-damaged, sealed-off, or “lost” …  perhaps there’s interest in giving new use to a historic property or district … perhaps prior renovations were unsympathetic or done ad hoc.  Here are examples of what we’ve done to improve, even transform spaces and buildings.

Our staff knows and appreciates prior building codes, technologies, materials, and systems – but also how best to update them.  Glance at the section on Technical Services for more insight.

Writing about this specialty involves a lot of “re’s” – repair, restore, reuse, reconceive.  Yet the most important “re” is respect for the past, along with respect for the available budget, for the current and prior stewards, for a new use, and for the timeframe to make the change.

David Paul Helpern, FAIA