Iowa State Bar Association

This project was a restoration/remodel of a circa-1903 railroad freight house into office space for the Iowa State Bar Association. The two-story building encompassed 15,3000 square feet.

The interior work for the project included infilling the hardwood floor where necessary to match existing historic flooring. Structural timber columns were removed by shoring and jacking up the roof and inserting a structural beam. Fabricated steel stairs and railings were clear-coated to match the historic theme. New, large windows replicated the building's original openings through which horse-drawn wagons once brought in freight. 

Exterior work included constructing a new membrane roof, installing new custom windows to replicate style of the period, and replacing clay tile coping on the parapet. New entrances to the building were also created to provide  emergency exit stairs and ADA accessibility.

Updates to the building included a geothermal well field with in-floor radiant heat and high-tech Internet-based phone lines. Because of the age and historic significance of the building, this project qualified for historic tax credits.

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