Architectural Intervention at 1308 Robinson, Orlando

A few years ago, a client came to me for a project. We started talking about this cool mid-century concrete building he had bought just outside downtown. The client had a designer do a rendering of the renovations and he was asking me to price the work. I took a look at the drawings (see below) and nearly fell out of my chair! I begged him not to do what he was about to do to his simple, beautiful modern building. 

I understand why he wanted to make some changes. It was painted a dreary color and had terrible landscaping. It wasn’t exciting to look at, as it was, but I could see its potential and that it didn’t need a ton of renovations — renovations that would undo all its modern lines.

BEFORE:

All it needed was new paint (in the right colors), new landscaping, and a façade intervention. As a result, BOOM! A beautiful office building was reborn in its original modern skin with just a few changes to make it stunning in the 21st century. Now, several local law firms have their offices there: The Young Law Firm; Conti Moore Law; and Deborah A. Cook, P.A.

AFTER:

Why Hire an Architect?

An architect is a professional designation, specifically trained and licensed to plan and design buildings. In the case of 1308 Robinson, my client was going to skip the ‘architect’ side of Interstruct and go straight to the construction/renovation based on a rendering. An architect will help you see the big picture, save on construction costs and avoid expensive errors down the line.

At Interstruct, we are also creative problem solvers and we love a challenge. If your project involves an entire building, whether building from the ground up or renovating a structure, you should absolutely hire an architect.

The Architectural Intervention

While we certainly build lots of structures from the ground up at Interstruct in our design-build division, there is something to be said for recycling, repurposing, intervention, as well as historic and cultural preservation. Florida is still a wild place, which makes modern buildings all the more a refreshing sight by contrast. Sometimes the easier way is the right way. Sometimes less is a lot more.

Photography: Chad Baumer

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