Converting Mill Buildings into Housing:
Ways of Working with Brick Walls
by
Paul Pressman
B.A., Goddard College
1973
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the requirements for the
Degree of
Master of Architecture
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
June 1981
Paul Pressman 1981
The author hereby grants to M.I.T. permission to reproduce and to
distribute publicly copies of this thesis document in whole or in part.
Signature of author
Department of Architecture
May 8, 1981
Certified by______________________________
Edward Allen, Associate Professor
of Architecture
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by
Associate Professor Sqidra Howell, Chairperson
Departmental Committee for Graduate Students
MASSACHUSETTS INS;TitL
OF TECHNOLOtY
MAY28 1981
LB3RARIES
l
Converting Mill Buildings
into Housing:
Ways of Working with Brick Walls
by
Paul Pressman
Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 15, 1981 in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Architecture
ABSTRACT
The mill buildings of New England add a unique dimension to the heritage and
identity of the region.
Today some of these buildings continue to function as the
site of industry, others have been converted to commercial or residential uses, and
quite a few have been left to decompose.
This thesis proposes some alternatives for converting 19th century mill buildings
to residential use. It examines mills of brick bearing-wall construction with respect
to their organization and materials, and looks critically at several contemporary
mill conversions.
It then concentrates specifically on showing how the exterior brick wall can
be transformed in order to make decent places to live out of buildings designed for
a very different purpose - industrial production.
Thesis Supervisor:
Title:
Edward Allen
Associate Professor of Architecture
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
.......... ,...,,
ABSTRACT
,,,........
TABLE OF CONTENTS
...............................
.
.
1
........
. .
.
2
,....................
. .
.
3
... ,........
..................
. .
..
PART I
.
INTRODUCTION
-
.......................
- 5
DIAGRAMS OF RESIDENTIAL CONVERSION POSSIBILITIES... ........
16
LOCATIONAL MAPS AND CHARTS OF CONSTRUCTION CHARACTERISTICS .............
24
MILLS AS INDUSTRY AND HOUSING
PART II
-
DRAWINGS AND REFERENCES
ERODING THE WALL....
.recessed entries and porches.........
... 28
OUT OVER THE WALL...
.balconies bays, decks...............
... 32
SPATIAL VARIETY.....
.different qualities within one space.
.44
DOWN INTO THE GROUND
.greenhouses, sunken patios..............
PERAMBULATORIES .....
.2nd story access and outdoor territories . . . 52
IN THE PLANE OF THE WALL
.new
ROOFS...............
.inhabiting the top story....
..58
...........
.. 66
,,68
PICTURE CREDITS.....
................................................................-.-.-.---
BIBLIOGRAPHY........
.....................................................
... .......
46
windows in the brickwork ...........
CONCLUSION.........,
ADDENDA......
...
,
,.,,
,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,..,,,,,,
3
.-------.
...-..-.
--..---..-.--..-.----..-.
.70
.71
Acknowledging.
. ..
the mill builders and mill workers of 19th century New England
donna louise harris
edward allen
joel and thelma pressman
william barton rogers and his offspring
.
..
clay, granite, spruce, and slate
4
Introduction
One steamy July afternoon
in 1977, while living in the
central Vermont town of
Montpelier, I was told by some
friends about an abandoned mill
over on the north branch of the
Winooski River by the north end
American Prints Works,
of town.
Fall River, Ma.,
1867.
Deciding to take a
look, I wove my way through the
small downtown business district,
out past the doctors'
offices and schools and nursing
homes, to the fringe of houses
beyond which the rolling
fields
and hills began.
There I
found a
sizeable
mill complex perched on the bank
of the Winooski, including a
Mill, Crescent Street, Waltham, Ma,
5
The company had
mill pond, dam, sluiceway, three
the world.
substantial brick buildings of
been in operation from just af-
various sizes, and several wood-
ter the Civil War to shortly
frame storage buildings. It was
after World War II.
the site of the Lane Mfg. Co.,
Fascinatedly, I spend sev-
a business which had manufac-
eral hours wandering around the
tured portable saw mill machin-
complex, taking pictures and
ery used by loggers all over
making drawings.
The major
buildings of the mill sat right
along the river, with finely
arched windows that looked out
through a screen of alders to
the gurgling water below.
A
small wrought iron footbridge
spanned 50'
to the houses on
the other bank, allowing pedestrians to cross the river and
walk through the mill complex
Main Bldg., Lane Mills, Montpelier, Vt.;
after fire and before conversion to elderly
housing, 1978.
underneath the overhanging
building.
6
The group of mill
buildings themselves made a com-
light.
forting, contained area which
wood floors with murky stains
was visually connected to
suggested a-bustling time gone
houses and hills beyond.
by.
Venturing inside the three-
Underfoot, ancient hard-
And from the roof, one
could see out over the town.
This wasn't my first after-
story main building, I was
struck by the variety and rich-
noon spent in a deserted edi-
ness of sensation within.
fice --
Each
I've always been
floor was a huge space, punctu-
intrigued by buildings whose
ated intermittently by massive
time has gone, or whose original
:MW
wooden columns connected by
r
heavy steel hardware to even
larger beams.
In the basement,
enormous gray granite foundation
slabs showed the watermarks of
past spring floods.
On the up-
per floors, the thick brick
walls provided a strong feeling
of shelter yet admitted much
Dutchess Co. print cloth mills
'Wappingers Falls, N.Y., 1889.
7
purpose has been superseded.
Settlements in New England
But my experience that day led
often developed around bends or
me to think about what it would
level changes in rivers because
be like to salvage that ruin-
such places favored the harnes-
to-be, and make it into a dwel-
sing of the power of the water
ling for people.
to do work.
In the 18th century,
animal hides were tanned, flour
was ground, and timber was sawn
in buildings erected on the
water's edge which served the
neighboring farms.
The buildings
were often wooden, the enterprises family-owned, and the
product usually was sold locally.
But by the early 19th century the scale of industrial
operations had changed.
Multi-
story buildings, often hundreds
of feet
Faulkner Mills,
Billerica, Ma.; late 1800's.
8
long,
built
of massive
At the height of the
masonry walls and fire-resistant
internal framing, served reg-
Victorian age, hundreds of mills
ional markets and employed hun-
occupies the landscape of New
dreds,
sometimes thousands of
workers.
Whole cities grew very
England, often very gracefully.
But by the early twentieth cen-
quickly around sites which were
tury, a cheaper labor pool and
unpopulated a decade before;
the opportunity to build more
Lawrence and Lowell, Mass.,
for
up-to-date buildings led many
example, grew very rapidly in
the first few decades of the
19th century solely on the bases
of their industrial might.
Later in the century, the
invention of the steam engine
allowed industries to be located without regard to the river
as their source of power, and
the railroad expanded the market for the mills' goods.
Wall detail, mill, Crescent St., Waltham,
three windows per arch bay.
9
Ma.;
industries to relocate in the
of the inhabitants and conse-
South.
quently giving a unique identity
By the end of World
War II, textile production'-in
New England had plummeted even
to a place.
In the past ten years, many
more drastically because many
of the mills which would have
products were being made more
been demolished or would have
inexpensively by industries
continued to rot have been re-
overseas.
stored and converted to some
The physical legacy of this
new use.
The trend towards re-
era, however, remains with us
use is not confined to mills,
and, I believe, contributes sig-
of course, nor is it prompted
nificantly to our sense of our
solely out of a desire to retain
past.
historic continuity.
Many towns in New England
Mills of-
are strongly affected by the
ten are profitable to re-use
presence of the hulking brick
because the buildings and the
giants of a time gone by.
land they occupy have usually
Often
these mills comprised the econ-
depreciated greatly in value and
omic lifeblood of the settle-
housing
ment, employing a good number
re-use
10
---
the most popular
is always in demand.
Stair towers:
mill, Crescent St. Waltham,
Durfee Mills, Fall River, Ma.
11
My interest in industrial
acquaint myself with both build-
buildings and in the re-use of
ings that were still in opera-
buildings in general led me to
tion and buildings that had been
a number of investigations
transformed to new uses.
during the course of the last
visited a number of newly con-
four months.
verted buildings in the Boston
I visited quite a
I also
few mills in Vermont, New
area of construction similar to
Hampshire, and~Massachusetts to
the mills.
These visits, combined with
photographs, sketches, and library research, led me to the
focus of my work this semester -how to convert mill buildings to
housing by doing more than installing new window sash.
Most
of the mill conversions I saw,
unlike the Boston waterfront
conversions, did very little to
change the form of the building
Entrance, Boston Mfg. Co. Mill,
converted
to elderly housing
Waltham, Ma.;
in late
1970's.
so as to create the qualities
12
which one might desire in a
siveness and strength created by
place to live.
the heavy timbers, planking and
Undoubtedly, the main reason
hardware is usually eliminated
why mill conversions are often
so minimal in their extent of
change is that imaginative solutions usually cost more money
than standard ones.
The usual
conversion scheme, therefore,
is quite simple.
As few as pos-
sible new openings are made in
the brickwork for new doors or
windows.
Rarely is
anything
added to the existing exterior
walls, such as places to be outside but still
building --
connected
to the
bays, balconies,
porches, patios, for example.
Mill, Crescent St., Waltham, Ma,
Wall detail of segmental arches
and brick buttresses;
one window per arch.
Internally, the feeling of mas-
13
by burying all structure beneath
gypsum board.
Ceilings are
dropped from ll'-12' to 8'.
Old
hardwood floors are topped with
concrete and vinyl tile.
C|ESlRl
NlO
M
N
The
mill is subdivided lengthwise to
make windowless, narrow, double-
annie e~gvasomNO. I MILL
loaded corridors with nearly
identical units on either side.
Most of what was wonderful about
the old mill is gone in the pro--.
Z..
cess.
The result is a building
SIX=
CHESHIRE
MIAIL
7-1
whose interior is indistin-
Histoic
Aericn Blg. Sirve
-rr n t.
oHAJ3S)
drawcing;
guishable from any low-cost
housing project
last decade.
NO
I
built
in
the
The conversion
MILL
14114
architects I spoke to placed
Mill, Harrisville, N.H.;
the blame on the fire codes,
Historic American Bldg. Survey (HABS) drawing;
the river runs through the mill.
14
the cost, or the desire to maintain the historic facade of the
building unblemished.
I believe the mill buildings
were designed for industrial
purposes, and that when the use
of the building changes, the
form of the building must necessarily change to accommodate
that
new use.
Being too pre-
cious about preserving the original form can result in badly
serving the new users.
Conse-
quently, in the section that
follows, Part II, I've explored
a range of changes to a typical
mill building.
Some are fairly
conservative, making few changes
in the exterior wall.
Others
A typical English spinning mule for wool or
fine cottons.
15
CONVER-TIN4G 'MILLS
SC -4M
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OWILT
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2
A T-TACmiD C*VUp.f . TO MAKE
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16
4,.StlftL
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cut out parts of the wall or
add onto it or expose the found-
Allendale Mill, Centerdale, R.I. (HABS);
a typical mill in terms of span dimensions
and construction methods; the stair tower
is detached from the body of the mill to
slow down the vertical movement of fire.
ation.
My intention was to give
these converted buildings some
of the qualities of private rowhousing or apartments in which
the inhabitants have a connection
(physical and psychologi-
cal) to the ground, the weather,
and their neighbors.
Hopefully,
these converted mills could
offer a gradient of privacy and
enclosure to the people who
would live in them..
On either
side of the brick bearing wall
is the zone where many of these
changes happen.
..
.
-N9W
.
m.
w be
NUMBER
ONE MILL
.
m
17
I(P
D
(NO. PROVIDENCE)
ICENTERDALE
E
RU
ALLENDALE
M LL
COUNTY
PROVIDENCE
RHODE ISLAND
302
COH1VERTING MILLS-IT
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is
I chose the Lane Mills,
which I
spoke of in
the begin-
ning of this introduction, as
a prototype from which I would
work.
The Lane Mills now con-
tain fifty units of elderly
housing, whose construction I
witnessed over an 18-month
Boston, Mfg. Co. Mill, Waltham, Ma.;
there is little about the exterior of the
building to indicate it has been converted to
housing; it looks prison-like.
Mill, Charles St. Waltham, Ma.;
only three bays wide, this building gets
wonderful light inside.
19
CON~VERTING MILLS 11HTO HOUSING
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20
/
period.
I'm glad the building
has been salvaged and that it
provides a place to live for
many elderly people in
Montpelier ...
but it is
intriguing to speculate on how
it might have been done differently.
I've tried to start to
do that in this thesis.
Rubble foundation wall, mill, Watertown, Ma.
21
Wall detail,
Boston, Mfg. Co. Mill, Waltham, Ma.;
'o-4NTtGMLL
IN4TO
HOUSINGi
k.~ )Wrw*$~& ?o~~x-STAMRW
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22
Time Table of the Holyoke
Mills,
To take effect on and after Jan. Sd, 1M3.
The standard being that of the Western Rail Road, which is the Meridian time at
Cambridge.
Ml
ro
MORNINC BELLS.
First Bell ring at 4.40, A. M.
Second Bell ring in at 5, A. M.
YARD CATES
Will be opened at iinging of Morning Bells, of Meal Bells, and of Evening Bells,
and kept open ten minutes.
p
WORK COMMENCES
c At ten minutes after last Morning Bell, and ten minutes after Bell which "rings in"
from Meals.
BREAKFAST BELLS.
October 1st, to March 31st, inclusive, ring out at 7, A. M. ; ring in at 7.30, A. M.
April 1st, to Sept. 30th, inclusive, ring out at 6.30, A. M.; ring in at 7, A. M.
DINNER BELLS.
Ring out at 12.30, P. M. ; ring in at 1, P. M.
EVENINC BELLS.
Ring out at 6.30,* P. N.
Excepting on Saturdays when the Sun sets previous to 6.30.
ring out at Sunset.
In all ca,
thejfrst stroke of the Bell in wusideue
At such times,
ax marking the time.
Wall elevation;
mill,
Crescent St.,Waltham,
Ma.
Sign from Holyoke Mills,
23
Holyoke,
Ma.
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T-VI
THilSMAP COMPLIES WIlH NATIONALMAP ACCURACY
STANDARDS
FOR SALE BY U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. WASHINGTON, D. C. 20242
A FOLbER DESCRIBING TOPOGRAPHICMAPS AND SYMBOLS IS AVAILABLEON REQUEST
O
MgCTWN
Interstate Route
U S Route (
30'
)State Route
MONTPELIER, VT.
15'OUADRANGLE
SE/4 MONTPELIER
N4415-W7230/7.5
1968
AMS 6472
I SE-SERIES
This topographic map shows the location of the Lane Mills, Montpelier, Vt.
The characteristics of the Lane buildings were typical of most of the mills
I visited. I used drawings made by the architects (New England Partnership,
Montpelier, Vt.) of the Lane Mills' renovation as a basis from which to make
my own diagrams and drawings, which are found on succeeding pages.
25
3i0p
72
vi
LOCATIOiN
QilADRANGLE
ATii
v r IniROFSuiFI
c3
ROAD CLASSIFICATION
Light duty road,hard or
Primary highway.
improved surface
hardsurface
Secondary highway,
Unimproved road
hard surface
V813
Physical Characteristics of Nineteenth Century Mills:
Lane Manufacturing Co.
Montpel ier, Vermont
Main building
CHARACTERISTICS
DATE BUILT
1870-1890
STYLE
Italianate
Italianate
Granite slabs
Granite slabs
MATERIALS
Brick
Brick
THICKNESS
24" @ ground; 16" @ roof
12"
NUMBER OF STORIES
3 (incl.
2
PITCH
Steep, intersecting gables
Shallow gable
Trussed
Trussed
51' x 136' x 46'
In projecting pavilion
Parallel to Winooski River
10" dia. wood
15' (4 aisles)
12' O.C. (approx.)
12" x 12"
30' x 85' x 25'
Internal stairs
FOUNDATION
r
0
0
.
SSTRUCTURE
OVERALL DIMENSIONS
VERTICAL CIRCULATION
RELATION TO WATER
COLUMN SIZE & MATERIAL
V)
COL.
SPACE-WIDTHWISE
COL.
SPACE-LENGTHWISE
BEAM SIZE
habitable roof)
No direct relation
8"-10" dia. wood
8' o.C. (4 aisles)
12'
O.C.
10" x 12"
SILLS
Seg. brick arch (projecting) Seg. brick arch (projecting)
Granite
Granite
SASH SIZE
Double-hung,
SPANNING SUPPORT
9/9
STRUCTURE
0
0
Lane Manufacturing Co.
Montpelier, Vermont
Small Building
Double-hung,
2" subfloor
1" hardwood
FINISH SURFACE
26
6/6 (3'
x 5')
A Few Examples and Some Generalizations
Talbot Mill
Billerica, Mass.
GENERALIZED CHARACTERISTICS
Italianate/ Queen Anne
Granite slabs
Brick
24" 4ground; 16" 4 roof
Greek hevival/ Italianate
Gr. Revival, Italianate
Queen Anne, 2nd Empire
Granite, fieldstone, brick
Brick
30" @ base-12" @ top of wall
3
4
Shallow gable
Truss
Moderate gable
Trussed
2-5
Flat to 450 gable
Truss or simple support
55' x 136' x ?
70' x 210' x ?
30'-90' wide; 60'-400' long
Stair towers with winders
Along canal/mill pond
8" dia. wood
26' O.C. (2 aisles)
Front tower with winders
Parallel to River
8" dia. wood
16' O.C. (4 aisles)
12' O.C.
12" x 16"
Seg. brick arch
Granite
Double-hung, 12/12
4" planks
1" hardwood
Attached towers or pavilions
Parallel to water
Wood: 6-10"$, cast iron:4-6"
Generally 20' O.C.
Generally 10'-14' oC.
Generally 10'-14' x 12'-16'
Granite lintel or brick arch
Faulkner Mill
North Billericsa
Mass.
1886
12' O.C.
12" x 16"
Seg. brick arch (flush)
Granite
Double-hung, 12/12
4" x 10" planks
1" thick hardwood
Granite slabs
Brick
20-24"
27
Granite
Double-hung 6/6,9/9,12/12
4" x 10" planks on beams
1" thick hardwood
1/1 6 "=1'-0",SECTIONS CUT NORTH-SOUTH
New stairs, porches, balconies, and patios
are added to the existing building, Each
section shows two units, the upper unit
entered by means of a covered exterior
stair. The lower units have a doubleheight space in the rear facing south.
28
Eroding the Wall
Removing parts of the masonry wall allows one to get back in
under the building but still be
outside, as if in a cave.
The
wall provides support but no
longer total closure from the
weather.
Lower masonry walls
could be tied in to the bearing
Newport, Casino, Newport, R.I., McKim, Mead,
& White, 1881. The main entrance is set back
just slightly from the brick wall, while the
balcony and cross-gable protrude out over.
wall to make outdoor spaces that
could serve as private
places
for the living units inside.
My
drawings try to provide outdoor
space for all the units.
West St. Condominiums, Cambridge, Ma.,
A small industrial building whose second
story walls are partially carved out to
accommodate an inset balcony.
29
1/16"=1'-0" NORTH ELEVATION
Minimal change in this scheme; the building contains six
units, three on each story, with three former window openings
converted to entrances for two units each. The entrances are
back inside the wall. New porches have been added to make
another zone of transition.
30
Memorial Hall, N. Easton, Ma., H. H. Richardson,
1880's.
An inviting entry arcade over which the main
assembly room is located.
Spinks House, Greene and
Greene, 1909. A reciprocity, as in the Newport
Casino; the entry is indented and protected, the
balconies jut out.
31
tt
NORTH ELEVATION
An attampt to make a sequence of increasing enclosure as the building is entered:
up three steps to a brick walled porch, then under a trellis, then under a
protective roof, and finally inside. . .
32
Out Over the Wall
Sometimes it's easier to
add something light to the wall
than to change the load-bearing
part itself.
In Vermont, the
apartment dwellers experience
the soothing sounds of the
river and are cooled by it.
Rhode Island, each dormer becomes a special place, unique
In
Apartment Duilding, Montpelier, Vt.; the bank
of the river is also the foundation wall.
in size and fenestration.
"Stick style" house, Newport,
33
R.I., 1880's.
1/16"=11-011
NORTH-SOUTH SECTION
On
Here the drawing shows one unit occupying all floors.
the rear side, a shed-roofed addition (a greenhouse or
eating area?) moves down to a porch and then to the ground.
34
Greene and Greene's buildings took advantage of a mild
climate to make a variety of
outdoors spaces connected in
some way to the body of the
house.
One feels protected and
exposed at the same time.
Gamble House, Pasadena, Ca., Greene & Greene;
back patio and overhanging roofs and decks.
35
0 2 4
8
1/8"1'-0", NORTH ELEVATION
I've exposed four feet of the foundation to allow the basement to become habitable
space in at least part of the living unit. The downstairs units become potentially
double-height, and new entries and windows are made below the existing window
openings. Downstairs is a patio; upstairs, a balcony supported on brackets is
reached through door openings extended down from the old window openings.
36
Furness' chimney reaches
-
down and dissipates delicately
into the rubble wall.
The dim-
ension of the chimney's lower
brickwork relates to the spacing of the railing baluster on
the two decks and to the brackets in the eaves.
One porch
is over and under parts of the
building; the other just hangs
3jIg
in space.
~r
Undine Boathouse,
Frank Furness.
37
Philadelphia,
Pa.,
1/16"=1'-o", NORTH ELEVATION
Two upper units & three lower units. New concrete lintels
frame lower entrancest concrete patios with low brick walls.
38
In the drawing to the left,
as in
the one on the previous
page, the basement has been
made into habitable space by
making new door openings through
the foundation wall.
Unlike the drawing on the
previous page, where access to
the upper floor is internal,
access is gained here by means
of external stairs and covered
porches.
By so doing, the
porches at the ground become
the domain solely of the lower
units instead of being shared.
Projecting roof deck, Commercial St., Boston,
(Waterfront area)
39
1/16"=1'-O", FIRST FLOOR PLAN
above*
Patios below with trellises or roofs; stairs and porches
L
CL|ECI
C'r LNMdLN
41
D
rT.U
IN
/AMML."
D- r.TNt%..
A'T
AU~
TAWENA CAI.
1/16"=1.-o'', SOUTH ELEVATION
To capture sunlight, the rear wall has been opened up.
Highly glazed sunrooms project out onto decks supported
by low brick walls which claim some backyard. In this
scheme, the building is divided into three two-story units.
42
Instead of using a light-
weight material like wood or
sheet metal to build a projecting bay, Furness defies conven-
tion by employing brick and
hangs the bay on limestone brackets.
The projection shields
the entrance overhead.
Hockley House,
Philadelphia,
Pa.,
F. Furness.
43
0
1/8"=1'-O", NORTH SOUTH SECTION
Two units with a shared entry. The lower unit has a doubleheight space on the south side which helps get sunlight more
deeply into the unit. The kitchen adjoins a sunken patio.
The upper unit utilizes the trussed roof space and has a
dormer to give it, also, spaces on different levels.
Spatial Variety
One of the opportunities
that mill buildings afford is
the possibility of making changes in the existing floor structure so as to create differences
in space, light, and privacy
inside and outside the building.
In the drawing to the left, the
right-hand side of the first
floor has been dropped 4' to
grade, and the basement has
been excavated 2'
to make a usa-
ble 7-1/2' kitchen height.
A
A
bedroom might be over the kitchen, but in other places the
room might be a full double
height, 16'.
Living room, Blackman House, Groton, Ma.,
Maurice Smith, 1963.
45
7
NORTH-SOUTH SECTION
Some reasons for excavating
46
74
Down into the Ground
The drawings and pictures on
the next few pages are of buildings which, in one way or another, have reached out into the
earth beyond their main structural walls.
In so doing they
extend their range, increase
North elevation, Blackman House, Groton, Ma.,
Maurice Smith.
the variety of kinds of places
to inhabit, and really fit themselves to their site.
Dwelling at Shaker Community, Sabbathday Lake, Me.
Note sunroom extension at side.
47
1/16"=1'-o", NORTH ELEVATION
48
Sometimes sites which change
in elevation lend themselves to
getting at the ground so as to
make use of that change.
The
out-of-doors becomes a part of
the dwelling.
SUSAN LAURENCE DANA HOUSE, EAST LAURENCE AVE. AT 4TH ST., SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 1903. DINING ROOM.
F.L.
West elevation, Greenhouse, Blackman House,
Groton, Ma., Maurice Smith
49
Wright.
1.
=*
,
1
i
A
=
4 0A
NORTH-SOUTH SECTION: porch and sunroom
50
J4,
Blacker house.
Above: South elevation with outdoor entrance to basement billiard room;
51
Pasadena, Ca., Greene & Greene.
1/16"-1'-0", NORTH ELEVATION
Six units total. The three lower units, which are double-height, are
entered at grade via individual porches. The upper units are reached
by climbing a covered stairs, walkingalong a covered exterior corridor,
and then climbing 3' to separate entrances past individual decks.
52
Perambulatories
The next few pages illustrate
the idea of moving up vertically
on the outside of the building
to a second level, from which
access to privacies is gained.
If the way up and the way across
are generous enough in size,
Moravian Tile Works,
H.C. Mercer.
they can also provide transi-
Doylestown,
Pa.,
tional, semi-public places on
the path from the street to the
living room.
53
College Hall, Haverford College,
Haverford, Pa., 1833
1/16"1'-"
rth-
outh section or elevation onpreceding pe
the 3' rise between the walkway and the individual porches
provides more privacy for the units
54
By placing the vertical
access outside the building's
body, the possibilities are
multiplied for varying degrees
of connection with the weather
and with people passing by.
3 1 Exter normNest
Shipley School,
Po F urness.
55
Bryn Mawr,
Pa.
from
:;Outheast
3-2Exleruor
Detached vertical access., This plan correlates to the elevation
and section on preceding pages.
56
i
m
4
lk
-
I
'
Uz ," &i'
#.
7-
Rhawn House,
Philadelphia,
Pa.
57
F. Furness.
IN
1/16"=1'-0", WINDOW AND ENTRY STUDIES
Some ideas of how to increase light and access
within the wall plane.
58
In the Plane of the Wall
This section shows some
examples of how changes might
be made within the plane of
the wall to increase light
inside the building, to help
define entry areas, to provide greater ventilation and
connection to the world outside, and to distinguish
differences in use.
In the lower row of
sketches to the left, I've
tried to make larger openings by using the existing
arch form over a larger span.
Gatehouse detail, Philadelphia
Zoo, Philadelphia, Pa., Furness
59
S2, 4
NORTH ELEVATION,
using new arched openings.
60
8
14
(left). One of three windows, Avery Coonley
Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois. 1912. Leaded glass, wood
frame, 86/4" x 28" (219cm x 71.1 cm) each. (Lent by The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Edward C. Moore, Jr.; Gift of Edgar J.Kaufmann Charitable Foundation Fund, 1967)
PLATE10
In the drawing to the left
I've made use of some of the
sketch - playing of the preceding drawing by placing
the new form in the wall.
The large arch occurs at one
of two places - either to
make an entry or a large
window.
I
Entrance, Gamble House,
Pasadena, Ca., Greene & Greene.
Leaded glass window. Furness
Library, University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia, Pa., Fe Furness.
61
~Mm 1
A
1/6"-- =-0 " OtLARGE OPENING STUDIES
62
These are sketches for
too shallow to be used to
opening up a large swath of
support a span of this
wall, using fixed glass,
dimension, so I've used a
opening sash, perhaps colored
concrete lintel.
glass, and some opaque panels
(maybe of wood).
The span,
15', is determined by the
distance between two existing
openings.
The arch becomes
Remodeled wall,
Boston, Ma.
Kitchen window, Strimling House, Weston, Ma.,
M. Smith.
63
Commercial Wharf,
F
I~lnT
'~
VM.
?MEN
O 24
8
I&
NORTH ELEVATION: new window openings using reinforced concrete lintels.
64
Once again, I've employed
some of the sketch windows on
the actual elevation.
The arch
rhythm is destroyed but the
building perhaps receives
greater light and the fenestration is more useful.
In the photographs of
Commercial Wharf, also a
Commercial Wharf, Boston, Ma.
massive bearing wall building,
[I-U~fFNfLb,
it's evident that the wall has
been radically altered.
The
changes seem to be determined
largely by use - the first
floor opened up the most
(retail), the second a little
less (office), and the upper
floors unchanged
(residential).
65
_-,,/ i
I
West St. Ctndominiums,
Commercial Wharf,
Boston,
Ma.
66
Cambridge,
Ma.
Roofs
The photographs on these
two pages show some methods of
using roof space both pitched
and flat, which was formerly
unused.
At Commercial Wharf,
1 and 2-story additions are
added to the pitched roof.
Sometimes a deck is cut into
the roof.
Commercial Wharf, Boston, Ma.
At the condominiums in
Cambridge,
the flat
roof
becomes a deck with just a
trellis overhead that could
later become more protective.
67
West St. Condominiums, Cambridge, Ma.
Conclusion
Scratching the surface,,,...
or lintels actually made
or in-
...that's what it feels like af-
stalled, what might new sash and
ter 4 months of playing with brick
doors look like.
mill walls. I believe I have at
least demonstrated
At the
some renova-
intermediate
scale,
I'm
tempted to take these changes in
tion possibilities and pointed
the
out some
their impact back inside the build-
references,
I waver be-
zone of the wall and oroject
tween feeling the proposals are
ing---that is,
either too timid or too unreal-
kinds of housing units within the
istically extravagant.
shell.
Several possibilities
come
to design different
At a larger scale, I'd like
to
to mind when I think of what
work on the question of how to add
this thesis would lead me to ex-
to mill buildings in a major way--
olore next. At the small scale,
how to make entire new p ieces that
it would be
interesting to see
would connect to the existing
how one would go about detailing
buildings, what would be
the changes in the brickwork it-
in terms of scale, material, new
self---that is, how are new arches
openings, detailing, etc.
68
suitable
Ultimately, it would be
in-
structive to work with a real
place
at the
,
such as the Lane
site scale
Mills,
and integrate
the many lessons into a proposal
for one place .........
69
Photographic Credits
1. Page 5-(upper right) Dunwell, p, 107
7- Dunwell, p. x
2. "
"
8Robert Peabody Brown
3.
"
11- Historic American Building Survey-(HABS), p, 37
4.
5. " 14- HABS, p,, 94
" 15- Dunwell, p, 10
6.
7. "
17- HABS, p. 140
8. " 23- Dunwell, p, 94
" 31- Current, p. 21
9.
10.
f 35"t
, p. 73
11.
37- O'Gorman, p. 54
12.
43"
, p. 40
13.
51- Current, p. 52
14.
55- 0' Gorman, P. 176
15.
57"
, p. 46
16.
"
59i
, p. 105
17.
61-(left) O'Gorman, p. 170
(right) Current, p. 60
70
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CURRENT, Karen and William.
Greene and Greene:
Architects in the Residential Style.
Dobbs Ferry, NY, Morgan and Morgan, 1977
DUNWELL, Steve.
Run of the Mill.
Boston, David Godine, 1978
Historic American Building Survey, New England Textile Mill Survey, Number 11.
Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of the Interior, 1971
The Adaptive Use of Industrial Buildings.
KIDNEY, Walter. Working Places:
Pittsburgh, Ober Park Associates, 1976
KULIK, Gary. Rhode Island: An Inventory of Historic, Engineering and Industrial
Sites. Washington, D.C., Historic American Engineering Record, U.S.
Department of the Interior, 1978
Massachusetts Department of Community Affairs.
Preservation Press, 1977.
O'GORMAN, James.
Built to Last.
Washington, D.C.,
The Architecture of Frank Furness. Philadelphia, Philadelphia
Museum of Art, 1973
THOMPSON, Elizabeth.
Recycling Buildings.
New York, McGraw Hill Book Co.,
71
1977