Project Description
2012 RADA
Restoration/Preservation / Merit
The best adaptive reuse projects build on the soul of the original structure. That’s the case at AP Lofts, whose 70 apartments bear witness to the concrete floor decks, mushroom columns, and factory sashes of the 1911 warehouse. Stripped to its essence, and repurposed according to the Secretary of the Interior’s preservation standards, the seven-story building’s original windows, infilled by a previous owner, were reopened and the sills lowered to take in views of the Des Moines skyline.
“We touched the historic fabric as lightly as we could with our new walls,” says Steve King, AIA. “Rental apartments have to take some abuse, so we kept the drywall simple, to stand in contrast to the rich patina of the original building.” Our judges applauded the effort to reuse rather than restore. “It’s romantic, repositioned for a second life,” one said.