Architects Build Community

One of our primary goals as architects is not just to build buildings but to design spaces that build community.

When owners bring forward their vision of how their structure can be built or adaptively altered, architects translate that vision into reality through the design process and creation of constructible plans. With the assistance of engineers, city planners, and code officials, we produce drawings and specifications for construction. Then a team of contractors and craftsmen follow those instructions to bring the owner’s vision to fruition.

Two of our significant projects in 2024: the Batavia City Hall, and the DuPage Forest Preserve’s Danada House have a lot in common as they are both places where people from around the community gather for conversation, for entertainment, and for celebration. Both buildings that have been a part of their locales for a long time and through continued reuse and revitalization can continue to foster community for years to come.

The Batavia City Hall needed to be remodeled for the city government to work more efficiently and meet new expectations for employee safety. While we addressed many egress and code concerns throughout the building, the entry lobby is the best example in this project of space being redesigned for improved efficiency and enhanced beauty. Not only did the Utility Billing department, the Community Development department and Reception all come together in one space, the building’s original heavy timber structure was exposed, and limestone accents were brought inside, all reminiscent of the history of Batavia’s community. Restoration of the exterior limestone and mortar and the replacement of the windows solidified this iconic structure to give a strong sense of place. Through the work we’ve done, the building is more resilient, more energy efficient, and easier to maintain, allowing it to stand the test of time.

When the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County requested Allen + Pepa’s help with resolving relentless maintenance challenges for their wedding venue facility, we discovered numerous programmatic enhancements to better facilitate the large celebrations they hold here. The historic Danada House, built in 1939 for Dan and Ada Rice and added onto in the 1990s by the Chicago architectural firm Ross Barney + Jankowski Architects, needed refreshing and re-detailing to improve its use as an assembly space that brings together family and friends to celebrate their community and family ties.

Like the renovations at Batavia’s City Hall, our work on the Danada House focused on a combination of surgical structural changes, life-safety upgrades, and strategic repairs with low-maintenance materials. We added a LULA lift to the building to increase access to the second floor, resolved ADA accessibility throughout, expanded the building’s fire detection and suppression systems, and replaced dilapidated trim and siding with longer-lasting products. We also repointed the brick around the historic house using lime-based mortar and stripped decades of latex paint off that house that was trapping moisture in the wall and destroying the brick. The latex paint was replaced with a potassium silicate coating called Keim, offering the same appearance as painted brick, but allowing the brick to breathe and preventing the need for regular repainting.

Another common factor between these two projects is how they are set in the landscape. Batavia’s City Hall is surrounded by the Batavia Riverwalk and what was originally the island in the center of downtown. Many of the city’s festivals take place in this picturesque setting. At the Danada house, the surrounding gardens on the West, North, and East sides flow in and out of the house. The enhancement of the building was further reinforced by the enhancement of all the surrounding gardens. Wholistic architectural design involves knitting together natural and built environments.

Allen + Pepa’s work on the City of Batavia Government Center and the Danada House both offer a snapshot of the detail-oriented work we do as architects to rejuvenate historic civic spaces, cultivate connection between the natural and built environment, and build community in the cities where we work and live.