Structural modifications did present challenges, however. Despite the fact that the factory had few interior walls and consisted mostly of columns, there was not a true 90-degree corner in the building, nor was a single wall flush and upright. The building had moved a lot during its life and even after redoing the entire slab on grade, Ogden says the floor outside his office still slopes almost 2 inches from one wall to another. “That’s all part of the charm of these older buildings,” he notes.
The unevenness of the floor posed a significant challenge in relation to the glass and aluminum rail details being built into the space. “Aluminum and glass are very inflexible materials, and glass has to be fabricated offsite and it’s only going to come in one shape and size,” Ogden says. By changing the sill detail from a low profile to a higher profile, the team was able to design an office storefront system that absorbs significant substrate elevation issues over a 10-foot span. This allowed the aluminum sill to be customized into the floor.
Ogden adds: “The other interesting thing was the only way to get upstairs was through a ladder or this narrow set of stairs that was really only for a person, no materials or furniture. They had a strange chute that went from the second to the first floor that was geared toward moving materials around. Getting all that stuff out of the way and then doing the structural enhancements really kind of made things click for people that were visiting the space and wondering what in the world this was all about.”
Smart Materials and Systems
After about one month of structural enhancements, the rough-in and framing occupied the next month of the timeline. Then, the final month was dedicated to the finishes and systems, which Ogden notes were thoughtfully considered.
He says: “When you want a building with character you have to be willing to make some compromises and adjustments on the fly and also be very smart about your building system selections and materials so they fit within the constraints of the space and the existing conditions but still aesthetically look very professional and clean and enhance the charm and character of the existing building.”
“Our biggest intent was to let the building show,” Boyd adds. “A lot of what we added was complementary to those original materials. For example, we do quite a bit of work in Cincinnati, and I was touring a building there with a colleague and another client and we saw these metal panels. We thought the metal would make a great accent piece for Turner’s reception area, so the [Cincinnati building owner] delivered the metal to Columbus for Turner to use in their space. It’s just little unique
things like that where Turner went above and beyond to reuse material instead of buying new.”
Materials reuse was a large part of the job. Originally, the mattress factory had extended south toward the alley, but Wittmann deconstructed approximately one-third of the building’s south end to make way for more onsite parking. One-hundred-year-old structural white oak was salvaged during deconstruction and used to frame the project’s stair openings and treads and wheelchair lift, as well as compose the reception desk. The red brick that was salvaged from the demolition was used to repoint and complete masonry repairs around the building that remained.
Wood trusses that help the first floor carry twice as much weight as the second floor are a distinctive building feature the team was determined to maintain. “We have these very unique trusses that we wanted to incorporate in the design because it’s not something you see every day and it’s sort of a conversation starter when you first see it,” Ogden states. “These existing building elements were very important to us to articulate for the design and implementation of our office space because of our history as a contracting company. Juxtaposed with new building materials, like glass, aluminum, drywall and a high-efficiency VRF system, we’ve created a very unique space where you have the nod to yesteryear with the raw building elements, yet a very sophisticated open office environment with some contemporary design elements.”
By specifying a VRF, or variable refrigerant flow, system, the team avoided covering up those unique building elements. “We wanted to maximize ceiling heights, and this system reduces the amount of ductwork you need and the size of that ductwork,” Ogden explains. “We have a lot of open office and very few perimeter offices, so it did well in the design criteria.”
The main reason the team chose the VRF system, however, was energy models demonstrated it would meet Turner’s energy-efficiency goals. “We chose to pay a little extra for the VRF system but from an energy-savings perspective it’s paying off,” Ogden says. “When we did our modeling, we realized not only would it pay itself off within our lease, it would pay itself off and then some while we are here.”