Navigating Historic Renovations
Finding the best path to update old buildings and homes with windows and doors
Sponsored by Marvin | By Andrew A. Hunt
This presentation explores how preserving and renovating historic homes and buildings helps maintain community character while enabling energy-efficient upgrades like improved windows. It focuses on the importance of windows in historic architecture and the challenges of balancing preservation with performance. Attendees will learn about relevant federal, state, and local guidelines, including the Secretary of the Interior’s standards, especially in the context of tax credit eligibility. The course also reviews strategies for window rehabilitation and replacement inside and outside historic districts, with case studies highlighting successful, sustainable outcomes.
Image courtesy of Marvin
Marvin is a fourth-generation family-owned and led business, headquartered in Warroad, Minn., with more than 7,000 employees across 16 cities in North America. The Marvin portfolio of products for builders, architects and homeowners is designed to provide exceptional solutions for any project with a focus on creating better ways of living. Marvin products are distributed nationally through a network of independent dealers. Visit Marvin.com to learn more.
Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in July 2025
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Identify research, planning, and preparation needed for historic rehabilitation.
- Evaluate conditions of the windows and the overall project goals to inform decisions to repair or replace.
- Formulate best solution if windows are to be replaced.
- Apply lessons learned from case studies where standards and guidelines were followed.
- Explain the health, safety, and welfare benefits to the building owner and occupant of specifying highperformance windows for historic renovation projects.
