1700 Fatherland

Centric Architecture

1700 Fatherland is an adaptive reuse project which repurposed a historic church and transformed its once sanctuary and classroom addition into a new office space. Reconstructing the bell tower was a big part of revitalizing the building to match its original form. There were challenges with the construction of this being located very close to a utility pole and the convergence of many overhead powerlines. There were many months of coordination with NES to prepare and then time the de-energization of the powerlines temporarily to crane the new structure into place. In addition to the belltower construction, much of the existing building’s façade needed repair or replacement. We recreated cornice and trim work to match the original dimensions and aesthetics. With a fresh coat of paint and a classic color palette, the many details of the façade were refined and highlighted. The original decorative frieze board patterning of the windows was able to be replicated and incorporated into the new windows. Existing stonework at the basement level was preserved and repaired. We were able to reuse limestone pieces from removing the blocked up original window openings. This provided repair material as well as allowed us to bring back in the original window openings to the basement space. Any areas where new construction involved removal of existing brick, this was salvaged and reused to replace and repair the facades. Some of the original wood flooring was used for cladding the new stair treads at the stairwells. In addition to the original wood flooring, the original roof structure and wood decking also needed some repair work. There was also additional framing that had to be added to support the bell tower. An artist was brought in to finish and blend any new wood with its existing adjacent finish for a seamless look. This process was time consuming but beautifully preserved the interior finish of the existing sanctuary.