Bently Enterprises Farmer's Bank Adaptive Reuse

Project Details

Project Description

Bently Enterprises called on Nichols Booth Architects to redesign the historic Farmer’s Bank Building into a 21st-century workplace for the socially progressive family of companies. Although the building had lost its original layout and its original function as the small town’s financial center, our team felt that its remaining early 20th-century grandeur was too beautiful to lose. CEO Chris Bently’s dream was an environmentally sustainable building that respected the dignity of the original banking hall while creating a relevant and inspiring workspace for his company headquarters.

Chris envisioned a space to welcome both the local community and high-ranking public officials and that would accommodate diverse daily work needs in casual meeting spaces and private offices. In addition, the underlying goal was LEED Platinum certification.

We created a cohesive space that reused many of the classic bank elements in creative ways. The front half of the interior is a double-height space that accommodates both office and community gatherings, with a large screen for projections and broadcasts. A former safe-deposit vault exhibits the history of the building and the story of its transformation, and is open to the public. Teller windows were reused in the back half of the downstairs space, which now flows seamlessly from the front half. The second vault in the middle of the building was repurposed as a meeting room, with a vault door as the conference table. Above this transformed vault, a new mezzanine overlooks the grand open space and adds to the open and airy feel.

The heart of daily operations beats upstairs. Here, we designed a combination of private offices and open workspaces, as well as casual meeting areas. Tall cabinets and map drawers from the original bank reside upstairs, and open staircases feel modern but give a nod to history with the handrails and end returns. On the roof, a small, cramped room that was originally a lookout was converted into a larger, open penthouse with comfortable furniture, drop-dead views of the Sierras, and an outdoor terrace comfortably enclosed by sloping, bowl-shaped planting areas. This patio has quickly become a favorite space for employees, for both working and unwinding.

While the interior space feels modern-traditional, history is in the details: classical trim, pressed-tin ceilings, full-height columns, the original chandeliers, the teller windows, old cabinets, and the commercial transaction counter. Even the new elements and materials—most of the building—are faced or treated to look old and create a perfect illusion of originating in the building’s original era.

We used passive and active environmental strategies, taking advantage of the site and climate. The photovoltaic array on the roof doubles as a shade structure for the penthouse and roof patio. A typical HVAC system was rendered unnecessary by ground-source heat wells that were dug into the street outside so that the differential in water temperature could heat and cool the building. Solar tubes circle the roof, illuminating the interior spaces with daylight.

In marrying traditional design with modern features and sustainability, Farmer’s Bank illustrates that good design transcends stylistic labels or single-track approaches. The creativity behind this building’s rehabilitation opens doors for historic preservation, sustainability, and the meeting of the two in the most unlikely places.