Historic renovation

With careful attention paid to retaining historic details, a 1920’s home is reimagined for twenty-first century entertaining. Paul Dyer Paul Dyer Paul Dyer Graciousness never goes out of style. So when a busy professional and single father with an affinity for entertaining and reverence for classic architecture purchased a 1920s Birge Clark-designed abode, he envisioned generous interior and exterior spaces designed for high-quality hosting. Paul Dyer Paul Dyer Paul Dyer To maintain the architectural integrity of the Spanish Colonial Revival structure encircled by protected oak trees, FGA incorporated the façade’s original roofing tiles and restored the feature stucco details and front door... More

The Van Asselt School, built in 1909 as a two-story, four-classroom wood-framed building is a testament to Seattle's rich history. Recognized as a City of Seattle historic landmark, the building's renovation, guided by the Secretary of Interior Standards for Rehabilitation, was a delicate balance of preserving the historic structure and meeting the needs of the present. This small, abandoned Tudor-style schoolhouse was revived in its original form, while a standalone CLT (cross laminated timber) two-story classroom and gymnasium was added, serving as a swing site for the school district’s ongoing upgrades. © Copyright 2024 Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Reserved. © Copyright 2024 Benjamin Benschneider All Rights Re... More

The Li’s Yizhuang group facing Shantang River locations on Shantang Street which isa cultural street with a history of 1200 years. Shantang River and Shantang Street ofSuzhou are important parts of the Grand Canal as a World Heritage Site. The Li’sYizhuang group includes a group of traditional ancestral halls belonged to Municipallevel cultural relics,15 residential buildings and an old warehouse. Shantang Street isa national historical street of China. The updated requirements are asked to continuethe traditional residence elements and retain the mottled exterior walls. Yi Jian Architects Yi Jian Architects Yi Jian Architects Yi Jian Architects More

PROJECT:        Penn State Behrend Federal House  TITLE:              A Bridge Between Past & Future With a gentle touch, the newest addition to campus preserves the past and prepares the future.  Brad Feinknopf The oldest brick structure in the area, the Federal House at Penn State Behrend is gracefully preserved and repurposed by an expansive addition. A light and spacious modern barn slips into the steeply graded site—linking to the restored Federal House by way of an elegant, glass bridge—to preserve and elevate the historically significant building. Brad Feinknopf At the same time, the building provides a new home—offices, classrooms, a... More

Buffalo, NY, boasts one of the country's great collections of historic houses, such as this example originally built c. 1929. But time is tough on these gems, and over nearly a century windowsills and door frames weather and degrade, and eventually need to be repaired and replaced. In addition to the physical changes over the years, priorities and patterns of living change as well, and some older houses are no longer suitable for contemporary lifestyles. John Wingfelder John Wingfelder This project focused on a rigorous renewal of the existing structure and exterior, contrasted by a modern rearrangement of the interior spaces. The first floor was opened up to create one large living and dining area, which flows through an oversiz... More

King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia had a forester’s lodge built in the Bavarian style, in honour of his wife, on the banks of the Havel in 1840. The building was conditioned with restoration plasters, and the preservation authorities decided to use lime plaster to recreate the historical surface. Architect: Borgartz, Berlin More

Centrally located, the city villa was carefully converted and extended. The owner and architect accomplished this himself with his young family. The visually impressive façade, on which solid sgraffito was applied, deserves special mention. More

Sponsored by La Region Occitanie, the project of La Cité consists in the renovation of the historic site of Les Halles Latétoère, in order to create a third-place dedicated to collaborative and sustainable innovation. La Cité hosts several public and private services devoted to young start-ups, such as Ad’Occ, At Home, Nubbō and Roselab.The project is located in the South-East of Toulouse, in the suburb of Montaudran, next to the railway running along the protected historic runway of the Aéropostale. The building itself is registered as heritage of the aeronautical industrial history of Toulouse. Roland Halbe Built between 1917 and 1918 by the industrial pioneer Pierre-Georges Latéco&egr... More

Temple Beth El, in upstate New York, is one of a handful of architecturally significant synagogues in the United States. We were commissioned to renovate and design a new educational addition in a manner that respected and preserved the original design by renowned 20th century architect, Louis Kahn.   A spacious, light-filled lobby connects the synagogue with a newly added structure that houses six classrooms, a large library, a social hall, a pre-function room, and a kitchen. The project also included the addition of a nursery school and the accommodation of the synagogue’s administrative offices all while remaining sensitive to the scale and character of the existing structure. The religious school is housed in the renovated... More

This family house was abandoned after a major earthquake hit the region of Friuli in 1976 and the building cracked in two. The structure was immediately secured but the family was so shocked they decide to move elsewhere.After nearly 40 years of abandonment, one of the daughters decided to make the house her home again. Even if it was empty and unfurnished, the interiors were still full of memories and their good and bad meanings: for this reason, in the very beginning the client asked for a completely contemporary space, with no references to the recent past.However, the project ended up bringing out a unique heritage of old spaces and materials, combined with the family history and the history of the building, which simply could not be tr... More

During the life of a centuries old building, we are just a moment, a quick pass: our work, our signs have been added to those of our predecessors. Our purpose is to deliver a snapshot, a true picture of what we have done. New and old materials are kept exposed: concrete, iron, bricks, stone, wooden beams and planks. Everything is combined and composed by necessity, nothing more, nothing less.   During the life of a centuries old building, we are just a moment, a quick pass: our work, our signs have been added to those of our predecessors. Our purpose is to deliver a snapshot, a true picture of what we have done. New and old materials are kept exposed: concrete, iron, bricks, stone, wooden beams and planks. Everything is combined and... More

The Sterick North Building at 22 N. BB King Boulevard in Memphis opened to great fanfare in 1963. Located next door to the iconic Sterick Building, the location served as the first Holiday Inn in Downtown Memphis and was the first garage-hotel combination building in the country. However, the building's greater legacy lay in an engineering innovation used in its construction: It was one of the first practical applications of the 'Lin-Tee' structural beam. Engineer Tung-Yen Lin innovated the pressed concrete technique which allowed the use of a single structural beam to support the building's unusual layout. The bottom 7 floors of the building are parking garage with a three-story hotel perched on top, surrounding a central courtyard with a... More