Built in 1852, the James S. Brown Double House was originally designed as two distinct dwellings with paired entrances. The solid masonry Federal Style structure then served for many decades as a high-end women’s clothing store featuring a single center entrance.

A private philanthropic organization with historic family ties to the building hired TKWA to restore the exterior building shell and adapt the interior to meet the office space needs of its staff. While many interior historic features had been removed over the years, TKWA preserved those that remained, including the main decorative staircase, original windows, and marble fireplace mantels. The exterior was largely intact, however, much material restoration / conservation was necessary.

This project strives to set new benchmarks for the successful integration of historic preservation methods with current sustainable design techniques. Sustainable features include pervious concrete, raingardens, added insulation, storm/screen combination units, operable windows, daylighting, and the use of recycled-content products. On this tight urban site, 60% of construction waste was recycled.