Mid-twentieth-century projects are in a state of limbo. In many cities, safeguards against quick demolition don't even cover “new” buildings built after 1939, yet many such buildings may be obsolete by current standards. The Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank, located in downtown Minneapolis, was one such building, a rare example of architecture from a time when American design was big, strong, and proud, but because of the Depression, actual building was rare.
The 1942 McEnary and Krafft-designed banking hall, on the National Register of Historic Places, was notable for its classic Streamline Moderne design touches. Its tower addition, which opened in 1963, featured sleek, International Style lines reminiscent of New York's Rockefeller Center and accented with bas-relief carvings on the limestone exterior and stylized owls in the glass blocks above the main entry.
But by 2005, the F&M Savings building sat empty on one of Minneapolis's busiest thoroughfares. Luckily, F&M Savings caught the eye of Ryan Cos., which was just completing the rehabilitation of the Minneapolis Sears building into the Midtown Exchange (see BD+C October 2006, p. 42). The grand lobby, with its tiered ceiling, marble floors, and wood paneling, encouraged the Ryan firm to have local architects Elness Swenson Graham review the feasibility of transforming the bank into a Westin hotel. After the project was endorsed by Westin owner Starwood Properties, Ryan Cos. purchased the building and managed its modernization and restoration.
Converting the interior of the building to a 214-room, four-star hotel while simultaneously restoring the building's exterior to its original design aesthetic was no small task for Ryan Cos., which served as both design-build GC and developer. The Building Team also had to meet certain standards to keep the building on the U.S. Secretary of Interior's Historic Registry.
“This is an unusual project and a tough conversion because hotels are so formulaic—certain room sizes, bathroom locations,” said Reconstruction Awards honorary chair Walker Johnson, FAIA, principal with Lasky Architects, Chicago. “This type of building is much easier to do new.”
Gray paint that had been slathered over the 1963 tower addition was carefully removed from the curtain wall, resurrecting its original blue-green hue. New custom-made double-glazed windows and interior insulation of the curtain wall have made the tower energy efficient while retaining its original appearance. An entirely new plumbing infrastructure was installed to serve the 214 hotel rooms.
The guest rooms, located in the tower, include 19 suites to meet Starwood's requirements for the Westin brand.
“It's nice to see a building from this time period that people thought was worth saving,” said awards panelist Carrie Warner, senior project engineer at Halvorson & Partners, Chicago.
Related Stories
| Aug 5, 2014
Risk scanning: A new tool for managing healthcare facilities
Using well-known risk analytics applied to pre-existing facility data, risk scanning can provide a much richer view of facility condition more consistent with actual management decision making.
| Jul 23, 2014
Holistic care model, regulatory changes make outpatient facilities a high priority [2014 Giants 300 Report]
With the Affordable Care Act still in its infancy, Building Teams are seeing reverberations in the investment decisions of healthcare providers, including new ideas about the types of buildings they are asked to create.
| Jul 23, 2014
Top Healthcare Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, McCarthy, and Skanska USA top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest healthcare contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Top Healthcare Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
AECOM, Jacobs, and URS Corp. top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest healthcare engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Top Healthcare Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
HDR, Stantec, and HKS top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest healthcare architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 20, 2014
IPD contract saves time and money for cancer center [2014 Building Team Awards]
Partners share the risk and reward of extreme collaboration on this LEED Silver project, which relies heavily on Lean principles.
| Jul 15, 2014
Michael Graves talks with Washington Post about new design eye from life in a wheelchair
Celebrated American architect Michael Graves sits with the Washington Post to talk about how being on a wheelchair changed the way he focuses on design.
| Jul 13, 2014
Punishing deadline can’t derail this prison health facility [2014 Building Team Awards]
A massive scope, tough schedule, and technical complexity fail to daunt the Building Team for a huge California correctional project.
| Jul 8, 2014
Fast-track naval hospital sparks sea change in project delivery [2014 Building Team Awards]
Through advanced coordination methods and an experimental contract method, the Building Team for Camp Pendleton’s new hospital campus sets a new standard for project delivery.
| Jul 7, 2014
Team unity pays off for a new hospital in Maine [2014 Building Team Awards]
Extensive use of local contractors, vendors, and laborers brings a Maine hospital project in months ahead of schedule.
