As a member of the Des Moines Urban Design Review Board (UDRB) since April 2018, I work to promote sensitive, durable, and sustainable development – our charge is to advise the City Council on City planning efforts and projects receiving City subsidy. In this capacity, I have the opportunity to impact the early stages of…
Category: Architecture
Wright-Style Renovation
This home, designed in the Frank Lloyd Wright “usonian” style, had not been updated in decades. The project involved restoration of the original stained concrete floor, updating the kitchen, restoring and adding a rail to the front porch, all new LED lighting throughout, and a new architecturally compatible screened porch on the back. The most…
Historic Brewery Addition
When Exile Brewing Company sought to expand production, they needed a large addition to their historic building – not an easy job to do within the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Rehabilitation! Because the original rehabilitation utilized historic tax credits, subsequent work was required to retain the building’s historic character.
Farmhouse Addition and Remodel
People do not live the same way today that they did 100 years ago when this colonial-style gambrel farmhouse was built. In this update with a master suite and kitchen addition, not a single square inch was left untouched! One of the key constraints was the directive that the addition should mesh seamlessly with the…