Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Anna Head Complex is comprised of six buildings and linking structures. We performed an adaptive reuse study in 2009 to determine their deficiencies and develop recommendations for rehabilitating the buildings to extend their life and to improve their functionality and safety. Four of the six buildings were also evaluated for specific adaptive reuse scenarios. Seismic strengthening schemes were developed for all six buildings.
In 2011, CAW Architects performed a stand-alone feasibility study and conceptual design to restore Anna Head’s Alumnae Hall (Building A) to its original use as a multipurpose room and performance auditorium, integrating seismic, life safety and building system improvements into the historic architecture to give the building a new active life as a student activity space. CAW also designed accessible facilities and paths to all parts of the building, and fully restored both the interior and exterior architectural features of this National Register Historic building.
Subdivided and festooned with exposed conduits, garish fluorescent lights and poorly placed utilities, the building was in need of a lot of care. CAW carefully restored the building to its historic character along with significant seismic, egress and accessible upgrades. Upgrades included new steel frames for seismic safety, sprinkler and lighting upgrades, new multi-use bathrooms on the first floor, new accessible paths at the exterior, and a new special access lift to reach the platform and second floor. In order to accomplish some of these upgrades, we carefully removed many existing finishes and replaced them with either new or restored finishes, which included a new roof, new exterior shingles, and a restored wood floor.
