RJC’s role in these projects is assessing the structural conversion process, changing the mechanical systems, determining how to run plumbing through floors, and much more, but it has to determine how to do so efficiently so as not to fight against the structure, and incur more cost, Kallweit said.
“There’s a logical opportunity to go to a modern energy-efficient mechanical system, which then pays off through lower operating costs for the owner and reduced environmental impact from use of the building systems,” Kallweit said in an interview. “There’s a mixture of strategies for addressing the building envelope. While it’s more costly to reskin a building, there are some reasons to do that as well."
For instance, he said, "When you get into a conversion, where now we’ve got some operable windows for residential units, there’s often a desire to dress that building up and bring it into the modern age in terms of its aesthetic, so there’s a good reason to consider changing the envelope from that perspective too. Maybe a third to half of the time, we’ll see an owner who does a reclad. That also improves the inner performance of the envelope and creates a building that requires less air and heat and gains less heat."
Looking back at the development of Le Samuel, Armoyan said the team’s biggest misstep was trying to preserve too much of the existing structure. “We were trying to be a little cute with what we were trying to demolish,” he said. “In the end, we demolished everything.” That approach forced
