Williams Teusink

PROJECT SIZE:
Chapel – 7,200 SF
Offices – 15,450 SF

PROJECT TYPE: Adaptive reuse

The Sycamore Chapel is a church and schoolhouse structure built in the 1890’s in downtown, Decatur, Georgia. Once it started facing some major repairs, it was sold to its neighbors and real estate law firm, Williams Teusink. The main goal of the renovation was to revitalize the existing Chapel for use as a future event venue and to convert the existing, former schoolhouse building, attached by a covered walkway, into offices. Williams Teusink would occupy the top floor of offices and the other 2 floors would be rentable office tenant spaces.

We were tasked with making every floor of the future offices accessible via a new elevator tower. In doing so, the Office of Design was able to create an addition to the building that feels natural and respectful to the existing structure while also standing apart as a new, modern addition.

It was also important that we maintained the historical integrity of the building. To meet historic renovation requirements designated by the city of Decatur, we had to keep the existing infrastructure intact as much as possible. This included keeping the double loaded corridor in the future office building as well as maintaining the existing windows, doors, and lighting. We also had to select materials and finishes that would be reminiscent of the era in which the building was constructed. To recall the existing checkered flooring and classic mosaic tiles original to the schoolhouse building we found modern materials evocative of these while also feeling fresh and new.