Zahn ’ s department store was an anchor of the community in Racine ’ s Monument Square . Here , a collection of images from its past . |
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matter of hours .
Visible from the rooftop bar Eave , Cornell said he plans to take prospective clients up there to demonstrate ArchSolar ’ s capabilities . “ This is probably the best solar classroom I could ever imagine .”
NEW SENSATION Incorporating new technology into the old building was the first challenge . Maintaining the historical aesthetic was
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an entirely different one . To recoup 40 % of the renovation cost in tax credits , Hotel Verdant had to abide by the stringent guidelines of the National Park Service and the State Historic Preservation Office . This meant adding features that resembled the original Zahn ’ s department store , from the choice of flooring to window styles to matching bricks on the exterior .
When Kubala Washatko
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Architects began work on the property , it had been gutted from a failed attempt at a children ’ s museum in the 1990s . With few blueprints and only a handful of historic photographs to guide them , they had to model their designs on the original space , incorporating aspects of the old department store — coffered drywall ceilings , plaster columns and tiled floors — for an experience at once familiar and modern . |
“ I always joke that when you start a historic restoration , it ’ s like a 500-piece puzzle and you only have 200 of the pieces ,” said Vince Micha , partner at Kubala Washatko Architects . The firm had worked on both historic renovations and hotels before and knew both projects had to be developed in unison for it to truly work . They were up for the challenge .
“ It ’ s something that we love doing , to save a historic
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74 hotelsmag . com Jan / Feb 2024 |