FAIRLANE HOTEL: EARLY-70S BANK REVIVED AS BOUTIQUE HOTEL WITH TERRAZZO WALLS AND FLOORS

Photo courtesy of Brad Hedges

Floor-to-ceiling, hand-poured terrazzo walls and retro marble blends with brass accents highlight the Fairlane Hotel’s midcentury-inspired renovation.

Built in the early 70s as a bank, this stately edifice’s midcentury architecture set the stage for retro-modern repurposing. The Fairlane Hotel opened in March 2018 as an 81-room boutique hotel in the art district that captures Nashville’s southern charm and creative energy. Sumptuous epoxy terrazzo contributes to the interior’s classic simplicity while adding value as a low-maintenance, durable floor. Distinguishing this renovation are extraordinary restrooms, where the walls are clad with luxurious floor-to-ceiling terrazzo, poured by hand, and complemented with precast cement terrazzo sinks. Poured-in-place vertical terrazzo handwork is also found on the bar front. Terrazzo replaced tile to unify the lobby’s aesthetic with its brass feature wall, original oak paneling, and massive travertine columns. Retro marble aggregate blends, clean lines, and brass accents also evoke the tones and textures of a traditional cement-based terrazzo in the café. The renovation was designed by Manuel Zeitlin Architects of Nashville and Reunion Goods & Services of New York City. The project received a 2019 Historic Preservation Award from the Metro Nashville Historic Commission and a 2020 Honor Award from the NTMA.

ADAMS COUNTY HUMAN RESOURCE CENTER: FACTORY TAKES CREATIVE SHAPE AS HOME FOR COUNTY SERVICES

Photo courtesy of David Laudadio

In an industrial structure transformed to serve as Adams County Human Services, a terrazzo tree pattern enhances wayfinding and unifies the space.

A 310,000-square-foot industrial structure built in the 1970s as a Mountain Bell telephone manufacturing center became the new home for Adams County Human Services in Westminster, Colorado. Four county services agencies were consolidated in the new facility, designed by DLR Group of Denver. A tree pattern portrayed creatively in the terrazzo floor is a central element in executing the theme of “Orchards to Innovation.” It honors the historical significance of the site: fruit orchards where community gatherings traditionally took place. Subtle color variations and aggregates provide a dappled backdrop to bold shadows from the branches above. The tree patterns indicate directions for over 500 daily visitors and help unify design elements within the large public area. Transferred from paper to the floor, the precisely drawn orchard design continues up the wall base and through the three-inch precast stairs.

IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE: HOSPITAL’S 100-YEAR-OLD TERRAZZO REVIVED IN STUDENT CENTER

Photo courtesy of Blakley Corp.

Ivy Tech Community College's student center blends restored century-old terrazzo with new epoxy terrazzo, unifying the design and reducing costs.

The restoration and expansion of Indianapolis’ long-abandoned St. Vincent’s Hospital as a new student center for Ivy Tech Community College is a highly functional convergence of old and new. Founded on the most durable elements of the hospital, the 2013 project revamped a treasured community landmark and its still-valuable historic floors.

The 250-bed hospital had served hundreds of thousands of patients in its 60 years of operations. Put together with mortar from sand from the local creek, the building’s original 1911 cornerstone was still standing.

While much of the hospital structure had to be destroyed, century-old cementitious terrazzo filling the original main entry, notably a monumental stairway, was restored. New epoxy terrazzo in complementary colors was installed in the common areas of the new sections of the completed 211,650-square-foot facility. The classic, retro design unifies old and new throughout the facility. Preservation and integration over demolition also translated to cost savings for the college.

“The project was a rare opportunity to incorporate terrazzo that old into new construction,” said John Blakley of the Blakley Corporation of Indianapolis, the NTMA contractor assigned to the project. “We didn’t redo the original terrazzo; we brought back what was there.” The original terrazzo’s natural patina and irregular colors lend the floor its well-earned character.

“You hear about old master craftsmen, but in many ways, today’s craftsmen are held to a higher standard,” said the terrazzo contractor after completing the combination of restoration and new construction work. “Old terrazzo people wouldn’t be happy to hear that, but the people who built this place have been gone for years now.”

“Terrazzo allows for a design of patterns to flow from space to space that you can’t do with other materials, and it is a hard surface with a high level of durability,” explained project architect Kevin Shelley, AIA, LEED AP, principal at Schmidt Associates in Indianapolis.

ULINE ARENA RESURRECTED FOR MIXED USE: TERRAZZO UNIFIES THE SPACE IN HISTORIC VENUE

Photo courtesy of Brycen Fischer

At Uline Arena, terrazzo flooring with an inlaid planter unifies the historic venue’s mixed-use spaces with modern industrial aesthetics.

Originally built as an ice rink, the iconic Uline Arena, with its famous barrel-vaulted concrete roof in its prime, hosted the Beatles’ first US concert and was home to professional sports teams. It fell into decay and was about to be demolished when it made several preservation lists, including the DC Preservation League’s list of “Most Endangered Places,” the Historic Preservation Review Board’s official protection list, and the National Register of Historic Places.

When developers took on the project, it was in great disrepair. Not much was left inside, and most of the roof was gone. The adjacent brick icehouse’s exterior walls were the only thing that could be saved. The rehab design team set out to honor the site’s cultural heritage and original assets. Today, the Uline site houses some 150,000 square feet of office space.

Where the arena had been open to the roof, three upper stories were created with rooftop terraces to bring in daylight. A 51,000-square-foot flagship REI store, the largest on the East Coast, opened on the ground floor in 2016. The site’s renovation as a mixed-use facility engaged the historic preservation review board and the community.

One imperative was to choose the right flooring and color palette to harmonize the various finishes and create a single identity within the project. The flooring and color palette were carefully selected as a sleek backdrop for the modern industrial look, a neutral canvas for the various design elements and multiple finishes. Epoxy terrazzo in the lobby and office corridors extends through the ice house to the arena area. Industrial elements accent a modern aesthetic with contemporary finishes. The original concrete ribs of the original roof remain, bearing the marks of graffiti.

“We didn’t want to overpower the modern industrial look with a super dynamic floor,” explained Kevin Crosby, Associate Principal at Antunovich Associates Architects. “Terrazzo provided a connecting finish throughout all the spaces, a handsome, consistent look that did it for us.”

The grand lobby connects the arena with the icehouse, where a vibrant, lush oasis inlaid in the terrazzo floor is a dynamic focal point. The design capitalizes on the unique flexibility of a poured material manufactured by hand on-site to create terrazzo shapes extending into the planting pit in varying lengths and widths. A lighter field with zinc divider strips is set in an ashlar pattern, accented by a darker border and a subtly different pop of blue glass that anchors the palette.

What’s appealing about working with terrazzo is that it offers “such a diverse palette of components and aggregates that allows you to fully customize an installation,” said Mr. Crosby. That’s also what’s toughest about working with it, he added. His advice to architects: get an idea of what look you want before you start to look at chips and colors; allow time to get samples in hand.

The Uline restoration has been a significant player in a wave of development in the NoMa (“north of Massachusetts Avenue”) neighborhood near Union Station. The project is the recipient of the 2017 Presidential Citation – Urban Catalyst Award for the Washington D.C. Chapter AIA.