DDOLD BIRMINGHAMCD ••NEW ARCHITECTURE™ Student Projects for an Historic Downtown Context OLD BIRMINGHAM nn NEW ARCHITECTURE nn Student Projects for an Historic Downtown Context or many years historic preservation and archi- Ftecture have been at odds, but recently a revived interest in more expressive architectural language and a strengthened concern for design in context with older buildings has led to some rap­ "*•% prochement. The Birmingham Historical Society invited Auburn University's Department of Ar­ %/" j&k chitecture to explore possibilities for seven sites in downtown Birmingham. Some proposals are en­ tirely new, others a combination of existing buildings and adjoining lots. Most projects en­ vision an appealing new /old play of forms and a complex layering of uses, the combination of which would add great richness and character to the city. The cumulative effect of these imagined places amounts to a new vision: not the solitary building afloat in space, but the engaged building fit deftly into an existing urban context, finding ways to make limited space more useful, in­ teresting, and inviting. Each site is described with student drawings following in sequence. Take time to explore. These are complex designs in response to tight demands. And join us as we wish away all those eyesore parking lots. The Birmingham Historical Society/The Auburn University Department of Architecture THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Originally built as an exclusive club, the Floren­ tine Building is richly ornamented in the manner of lavish Venetian palaces. Extensive use of glazed terra cotta, cherubs, cameos and medallions, along with columns and arched windows, set the building apart as Birmingham's most decorative. Developed in 1927 by Henry Upson Sims, it was the most expensive building per square foot built in Birmingham in its time. Local architect David Oliver Whilldin designed the foundations to sup­ port a ten-story structure. Completion of the structure as originally intended was halted with the Depression. Since then the building has served a variety of purposes. •** h . #" I Auburn moves to Birmingham in this expansion of the Florentine Building. I Birmingham's most decorative building. (Facing page) Tench envisions an extension of the Auburn Department of Architecture in the historic Florentine Building. Renovated to include studio and exhibition spaces, an auditorium, and administrative offices, the Florentine Building would become a place for the ''meeting of the minds," those of students, teachers, lecturers and professionals from the Bir­ mingham community and beyond. Curriculum would include detailed study of urban design. Residential quarters for students are planned as part of a third-floor addition which would open into the adjacent Denechaud Building. (See Trout project, pA). All three floors open to a central skylight. nngnn on ••i •nga •gna g DDHD a ••Ban on ••i nana nffian e DDMD a an a anna anna • DDDDH an HDDDQDDD nnDDDB ^y -^i 3 ki n^ bt"» p • FLORENTINE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE P n a David Tench • • THE FLORENTINE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE An enclosed arcade connecting the Denechaud with the proposed new construction provides relief from the street and a controlled environ­ ment for a restaurant, shops and offices. (Facing page) Planned as an integral part of the Florentine •law Building's proposed School of Architecture, the Denechaud its Renovation and Arcade provides a restaurant and dorm space «SiKt (one-bedroom loft apartments) for Auburn students and other single, young professionals. In an adjacent new construction, Denechaud Renovation and Ar­ which retains the 2 5-foot grid rhythm of the neighboring cade site. Denechaud and Zinszer Buildings, Trout plans retail spaces to Denechaud's European Hotel and support art-oriented groups he hopes to attract to the area. Restaurant boasts the city's most These include a music shop, fine arts bookstore, drafting elaborate metal cornice. supply store, and art gallery. nngnn an ••i nnsrjDHnnpDDflDG^ I iU an ni ••Han ••i nnffln nfflnn e DDHD a a DI nn DI DC an a • •• •••••••••£>]! nn an DDDDDDD DDDnnBl cffl n NORTH KLEVATION SECTION A A ENTRY LEVEL SECOND LEVEL P DENECHAUD RENOVATION AND ARCADE P • n Gerald Trout n n ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTERS Peter Zinszer constructed this elaborate "palace '•"sew- ,. «.„•».- *y, ^ A . ,..,-. ^./^(j, "•M^^^ faaaaammaaat*a.nff a. *,_)•"< ~r*& r-<•>• i—^" £». • * ^M "? of trade" in 1888. Birmingham's first and largest KF*n, •» JIH «,"»« "easy payment" furniture house, it held an im­ mense variety of carpets, matting, stoves, and a n $,.ffrrrrx*/i j general line of household furnishings. During its S-1, heyday, merchandise filled the floors to capacity ;4i lii; and two large teams of mules delivered goods to •<*"*»' -»v jaaeai i"v •<».-.• »' patrons in all parts of the city. Customers from %ti.§^' " outlying regions leased boarding rooms on the third floor to facilitate extended shopping sprees. For many years after Peter Zinszer died in 1884, the store was run by his widow, Rosa Zinszer, who was the most prominent female entrepreneur in early Birmingham. Today, the structure is Birmingham's finest ex­ ample of a cast-iron front building. The entire facade is made of cast iron and glass in a popular 19th century style for commercial buildings, with deeply-bracketed cornices, a thin vertical em­ phasis, large areas of glass, and stylized classical details. The Zinszer Building was individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in (Facing page) In his Zinszer Building Urban Center, Vemer 1980. It became part of the Downtown Birm­ combines office, commercial, and residential functions to in­ crease day and nighttime activity in the downtown area. A ingham District in 1982. pub on the first floor of the renovated Zinszer Building serves Peter Zinszer's Mammouth Fur­ as a place to gather with friends and business acquaintances. niture House, Birmingham's finest Upper floors are redesigned for office and apartment use. The example of a cast-iron building. adjacent and substantial infill structure which reinterprets rhythms of the Zinszer and Denechaud facades in a medium of New facade of Zinszer Urban Center, an attempt to blend into steel and concrete would house shops on the first level and the character of its historic split-level apartments on second and third levels. On-site park­ neighbors. ing for tenants is provided at the rear of the structures. nngnn on nni nnea agon B nnan a ,nn ni nn ni on nnBnn on nni nnnn nsnn e DDHD ni nn ni nn ni on nn a enna nnnn n nnnn HI on nn onnnnnnnnnnn gggglBg^go n P• ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTER • • n a David Verner • n ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTERS : -- — — I Corinthian columned cast-iron -, .. L • /ront used as freestanding entrance to a new urban center. Hi (Facing page) Love redevelops the historic Zinszer Building and adjacent parking lot into a mixed use of commercial (first floor), office (second floor), and residential spaces (third floor)—all beneath a central skylit atrium. Preserving and respecting the existing cast-iron facade (one-third of which is left freestanding), he employs a rhythm derived from the Zinszer facade in his new building and carves away the ex­ isting building to create a zigzag-edged urban space. This set­ back pattern is extended across the alley, providing an internal pedestrian connection to First Avenue. 8 nngnn on no nn ni on nnfflnn on no nn nni on nn nn nnnnnnn nnnnn nn Q nnn nnnn n nnnn % FJRS1 AVENUE P• ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTER nn • Mark Love nn ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTERS This rotated cube scheme attempts to translate 19th century cast-iron technology into a 20th-century idiom. Bracketed cornice, egg and dart, acanthus leaves and other classical ornament of Zinszer Building. (Facing page) Matter's reuse of the Zinszer Building posits a restaurant and bar at entry and mezzanine levels, with upper levels becoming living units for students and couples who work in the downtown area. On the adjacent infill site, he designs a new building to house ten small carryout food shops, com­ munal eateries, and efficiency apartments. Employing a rotated cubes scheme, Maher attempts to translate the Zinszer's 19th-century cast-iron technology into a new 20th century idiom. The new building of light aluminum forms steps back to respect the historic building and to set a stage from which to experience it. 10 nngnn nn nnsnnm DBDD B noe n nanna ni nn ni nnfflnn nnfflnnffln nfflnn e noe n nffnnBinnen n IUnI n nn DC0DDD nnnn n nnn. .: ~"11—I nn gnnn nnnn n nnnn 1 „JLJ P ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTER PP • • Kevin Maher • n ZINSZER BUILDING URBAN CENTERS (Facing page) The cast-iron facade of the Zinszer Building becomes a street foil to Brown's multi-story new construction. This set-back underscores the importance of the historic facade and provides a transitional space separating street and interior spaces. For the new complex, commercial uses such as art, office supply and music stores are suggested on the first and second a •P floors and twenty-three efficiency and one-bedroom apartments Zinszer Building (left), parking lot on the upper floors. Private balconies of the residential units (center), Denechaud Building overlook the street and the semi-public courtyard created on (right). the site of the present parking lot. 12 nngnn on no nn o on o on nnHnn on no nn no on nnnnn nn nnnnnnn nnnnn nn nnn nnnn n nnnn P• ZLNSZER BUILDING PP • n Michael C. Brown • • THIRD AVENUE PROFESSIONAL/COMMERCIAL CENTERS On Third Avenue between 20th and 21st Streets, the essentially uniform cornice line, the urbane three- and four-story scale, and the similar stylistic treatment of individual buildings create <t the most harmonious block remaining in downtown Birmingham.