The Brenton

This project was selected as an Honor winner in the 2022 Residential Architect Design Awards, Restoration/Preservation category.

"A catalyst for revitalization, The Brenton brought renewed life to this historic Midcentury renovation.” — Juror Melissa Daniel, Assoc. AIA

Completed in 2020 as conversation surged around transforming vacant office space into housing, this renovation brings new life to a three-story, Midcentury Modern structure originally designed as a bank in Davenport, Iowa. Dubbed The Brenton, after the local financial institution that built it in 1966, the 39,036-square-foot building now houses 38 residential units that include market-rate and affordable rental apartments.

Despite the original building’s unyielding gridded organization, Des Moines, Iowa–based ASK Studio managed to retain the structure’s clarity of purpose while radically changing the functions for its continued life as a community asset. The architects kept the clear structural framework of the building, which they identified as an example of New Formalism. The original teller lobby on the ground level, for instance, has been preserved as the building’s lobby and the center of common spaces for the new residents. It introduces the historical fabric of the building with its open space, long-span concrete arch structure, and original materials such as terrazzo flooring, aluminum framing, and wood doors.

The team honored the building’s history upstairs, too. There, where bankers’ offices once reigned, the existing double-loaded corridors running the length of the building on the second and third floors now serve studio and one-bedroom apartments. New systems, especially plumbing, required a deft touch by the architects to avoid compromising the original building’s minimalist approach. In the same spirit, the interior color palette remains subdued, allowing elements of the original structure—including the terrazzo, aluminum framing, and wood doors—to remain prominent.

PROJECT CREDITS
Project: The Brenton, Davenport, Iowa
Client/Owner: Newbury Living
Architects: ASK Studio, Davenport, Iowa. Brent Schipper Architect AIA, LEED AP,
Interior Designer: Rachel Hoffman, IIDA.
Mechanical Engineer: TBD
Structural Engineer: Raker Rhodes Engineering LLC
General Contractor: Build To Suit
Any other consultants, with their roles: AKAY Consulting, Alexa McDowell (Historic Consultant).
Cost: $4,100,000

MATERIALS AND SOURCES
Acoustical System: ALL WALLS WITH SOUND BATT ATTENUATION BLANKETS ARE TO HAVE ACOUSTICAL SEALANT AT TOP AND BOTTOM. SEE WALL TYPES FOR ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.
Adhesives, Coatings and Sealants: CLEANING AND WATER-REPELLENT TREATMENTS FOR HISTORIC MASONRY BUILDINGS
Bathroom Fixtures: TOWEL BARS, SHOWER HEARD
Cabinets: YES/ WIRE SHELVING
Ceilings: ACOUSTICAL CEILING TILE GLUED TO B.O. GYP BD
Flooring: CARPET, ALTERNATE FOR LUXURY AND WATERPROOF VINYL PLANK (LVP) IN BEDROOMS / BEDROOM CLOSETS IN LIEU OF CARPET
Wallcoverings: REMAINING VINLY WALL COVERINGS REMAINED THORUGH AND NEW CODE COMPLIANT VINYL WALL COVERING OVER EXIST. GYP WALLS, TYPICAL - STYLE SIMILAR TO EXIST. HISTORIC COVERING.
Walls: CONCRETE, EXIST. GYP, EXIST. BRICK, PAINT.
Windows and Doors: NEW/EXISTING WOOD, STAINLESS STEEL, HOLLOW METAL, GLASS. WINDOW NEW/EXISTING.