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B708
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
A historic renovation turning the building from administrative spaces back to its original use as a warehouse.
AWARDS
B708
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
B708
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington
SIZE
14,236 SF
COMPLETION
2010
CONTRACTOR
DELIVERY METHOD
Design
CERTIFICATIONS
SERVICES
Renovating old buildings turns architects and engineers into detectives searching for clues. They track down old drawings and try to decipher the notations blurred by one blueprint too many. The old building starts to look like a crime scene with designers tromping through them with measuring tapes, flashlights and cameras. They figuratively peel away the layers of additions, new partitions, ducts and conduit with the hope of gaining an understanding of how the structure was built to best determine the approach for renovating.
The McChord Field Warehouse had lots of layers to peel away. We learned from our detective work the brick edifice was built in the 1930’s next to railroad spurs to store goods offloaded from freight cars. Over the years the freight train lines serving the warehouse were abandoned, and the large spaces were subdivided into offices. When the owner came to us for help, the building needed to return to its
original purpose, a warehouse, but brought up to current building code requirements. Also, the district where the warehouse was located was registered as a Historic Place, so care had to be taken to restore the building’s original exterior appearance based on our detective work. The design employed shotcrete to reinforce the old masonry walls from the inside, bringing the structure up to date for resisting earthquakes while maintaining the exterior aesthetics. Additions built on the original railroad platforms were demolished: old railroad platforms make great loading docks for trucks. A warehouse was restored to its original use – mystery solved!
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