Infill Elevations

Street view showing building orientation and stair locations going to the lower level shops.

Front elevation with the upper openings to the roof garden


Rear view showing the roof garden and building location within the existing footprint

Close up view of the roof garden with the courthouse in the background

View from one of the roof decks looking towards the courthouse

Third floor view

Building Section

Building section through the stairwells showing the glass roof for light and ventilation

Revised Floor Plans Infill

I went back and looked at the floor plans and tweaked the stair location which at first I wasn't sure would work, but after going through the plans, I think they actually work better.

I added restrooms and an office in both the basement and first floor and got rid of the stairs going up to the main entry. I liked them, but I don't think they really give me anything.

The second and third floor units are much better with a bigger bedroom on the west side and also introducing more natural light and ventilation.

Lansing Building Photos

I was able to get into the Lansing Building and take some photos and asses the interior layout, as well as the views to the exterior and views from the roof. Overall the building is pretty solid and has retained most of the significant features including the original stairs, fire place surrounds and a couple of rooms with original tin ceilings. After being able to see the building firsthand I may have to rethink a couple of my design decisions.

View of the courthouse from the roof.

Looking down to the existing front entry.

One of the existing mantles that will be replaced in its original spot.

View from one of the second floor windows


Existing stair leading to the third floor

Looking out into the existing lightwell.

Preliminary Exterior Elevations Infill

I still have a lot of details and design decisions But I think overall this is the overall direstion I want to head.

Front elevation showing the stairs going to the lower level shops.

The rear of the building is pretty confined so all exterior amenities for the residents is limited to the roof. To bring more light into the building there are skylights at each stair. At each floor there will be windows into the stairwell that will allow light into the units as wel as the first floor retail area.

Infill Project/Renovation Uupdate

Since the site creates defined boundaries that cannot be changed, I have tried to maximise the available space. In many of the original photos of the site, like the one below, the basement level was used for retail adding another floor for available businesses to locate. It was quite common to see street level businesses during the early part of the 19th century. Much like today the building owners needed to get as much usable rental space to recoup their investments. My thinking is that the lower level would be rented at a lower than market rate due to it not being as prime a location as street level shops.

The basement is set up so that it could have one or two businesses. According to past studies, the First Floor would probaby be a single business, but with the multiple front entries could be separated into two.
The second and third floors are setup to be four one bedroom apartments. I debated on the second floor use, and still may elect to do a business use there. The roof will be a green roof and will have patios for residential tenant use. There is a skylight over the front stair that will allow full lighting to flood the stair, and with light shelves and window properly placed, maybe aven into the apartments.

I am still working on the elevation studies and will post them soon.

Asfor the renovation of the Lansing building, I thought I had the plans pretty well worked out, that is until I had a chance to get into the building and look around. There are a few features that I didn't know about that I want to keep. I will post some photos along with the plans.