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Home > Preservation Portfolios > Architecture > Doug Harnsberger |
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Architects : Doug HarnsbergerArchitecture for Historic StructuresBusiness Name: Commonwealth Historic, PLC When the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House caught fire before Christmas, 2007, black smoke billowed through the Vice President’s Ceremonial Suite. Doug Harnsberger, consulting historic architect for the design/build contractor already on site was charged with guiding the removal, repair and reinstallation of the water damaged parquet floors, stenciled walls and ornate lighting. It wasn’t the first time he’d been asked to stitch the historic fabric of a building back together. In 2003, the retaining wall collapsed around St. John’s Church in Richmond, a National Historic Landmark with pew markers for the Founding Fathers. Doug provided the design and specifications for the reconstruction of the old wall and the conversion of a one-room school house in the church cemetery into a St. John’s Visitor Center. The project was complicated by the integral church graveyard and the early American archaeological history buried there. The graveyard was carefully protected from harm during the construction process. Even as a graduate student, Doug was committed to preservation. While at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, Doug x-rayed Jefferson’s distinctive neo-classical dome at Monticello to reveal its hidden construction details. The x-rays showed an ingeneous system of wood framing - "Delorme’s Method" - invented in Renaissance France by Architect Philibert Delorme - that provided an inexpensive alternative to constructing domes in stone. "My focus is to bring historic buildings back to their optimum health through proper diagnosis and building surgery - as a physician may do for a patient," Doug says of his skill at resuscitating historic architecture. Thank goodness for the high rate of survival among his aged patients. What do you do for old houses that other architects can’t do? My particular focus is to provide good historic restoration prescriptions, and design guidance for constructing sympathetic additions that fit comfortably with the historic architecture. Many contemporaty architects have not been trained to read and interpret the design vocabulary of old buildings. So they are not attuned to the various building traditions of these historic structures. I have tried to apply my background as an architectural historian to inform the design work that is required to make historic buildings useful again. So my architectural history training informs what I do as a design architect. Why did you decide to specialize in old buildings? It seems most architects want to design new buildings, where they can make a mark or a statement. When I was an undergraduate architecture student at UC Berkeley, I first realized that the buildings that interested me most were those that weren’t distinguished by the contemporary design trends of our modern epoch. I’ve always gravitated to the enduring buildings that transcend our immediate time. My student travels through Europe, China and the Middle East reinforced this. I saw that some of the most impressive buildings of both Western and Eastern civilization were designed to last for many centuries, thousands of years in some cases. What an incredible way to build that is! You’ve worked on many major landmarks and large government buildings. What about smaller residential projects? Most recently I’ve designed the restoration and expansions of three historic landmark houses on the Rappahannock River in central Virginia-Belle Grove, Millbank and Riverview - and contributed to exterior preservation of Battersea, an 18th-century Palladian house in Petersburg, VA. I try to be very attentive to their unique craftsmanship and expertly assembled construction details. This year, a charming 18th century Glebe House in Amherst, Va has been a most enjoyable residential restoration and kitchen wing expansion project. Each historic house has its own remarkable story and personality, I find. It’s tempting to take short cuts, save money, get the job done quickly. Your standards are pretty exacting and quality comes at a cost. What’s the justification for investing in a first-rate renovation/restoration when there are ways to cut corners? I strive to give extended life to historic buildings and then to add design contributions that make a enduring statement of our time and place. You usually can’t do that on a shoestring budget. Quality craftsmanship and materials can be more expensive than standard methods, but when it’s important to preserve our architectural legacy for the next century, the overriding idea is to do build well. Over time, the cost of building will amortizes into greater long term affordability. Cutting corners may, in fact, be the most expensive option an owner can choose. A cheaper material choice may mean a greater maintenance cost. I aim to design for longterm value. A durable, long-lasting roof, for example, is a wise investment for any historic structure, in my judgment. What project are you proudest of? I’m most pleased with the design work that I’ve contributed to the historic Academy of Music in Lynchburg, VA. It’s been a five-year effort by a talented design team, that I’ve had the privilege to lead, to renovate the historic theatre and its adjoining building, the Price-Clements Warehouse. Along with the warehouse restoration into the new fine art facility and black box theatre, the construction of the new fly tower for the Academy of Music Theatre is set to begin this spring. The complex has done so much already to bring new theatrical and artistic life to the downtown. This project is more than about the basic architectural design and restoration work; it’s about the exciting community building results in downtown Lynchburg that the project is engendering. Range of architectural services that your firm offers:
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