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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Architect Jonathan Barnes said that sometimes the best way to make designs sustainable is to just resist the urge to tear things down.
What you need to know
- Several of Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design’s recent projects modernized old vacant buildings
- Barnes said Columbus lags behind other major cities when it comes to sustainable design and building practices
- Preserving old structures has advantages for sustainability, but can also lead to attractive industrial-style designs
His designs often preserve parts of the old building fabric and create modern, characterful and at the same time environmentally friendly buildings.
Jonathan Barnes
“What a lot of people miss when it comes to sustainable building practices is the fact that honestly the most sustainable thing you can do is not necessarily solar panels or geothermal energy. The most sustainable thing you can do is work with or start with something that already exists, ”he said.
Jonathan Barnes Architecture and Design (JBAD) has been working on a number of new projects that have converted older buildings such as manufacturing and warehouse buildings in downtown Columbus into mixed-use residential buildings. It helps that the warehouse-style industrial designs are attractive these days, especially for the younger generation who live and work downtown, he said.
Near the Columbus State Community College campus in the northeast corner of Columbus, JBAD took on a project of a five-story concrete and brick warehouse that was built for metal manufacturing more than a century ago and had been vacant for years.
The design for the View on Grant added a three-story cantilevered roof extension with orange accent colors, and the upgraded building now houses residents of the building’s 86 units.
In another downtown example that opened this year, a historic vacant warehouse was the basis of the JBAD design for @ 150 North 3rd, a 79-unit mixed-use apartment building with retail on the ground floor.
“It was this building that really didn’t contribute, which has not been inhabited for a long time. Now it’s full of apartments and we didn’t build it, we just cleaned up the inside and added the apartments, ”he said.
@ 150 North 3.
When it comes to sustainable design and construction practices, Columbus lags a little behind other major cities, Barnes said.
“I think you will find that there is a lot more attention and effort being devoted to sustainable practices in many places, be it Charlotte, Seattle, Austin, Denver or the West Coast, than Columbus,” he said.
However, Barnes said that is starting to change as a new generation of developers in the city put more emphasis on sustainability, both because it is the right thing and because it is increasingly marketable to say that developing with the environment in mind was built.
As for regulations, he said Columbus doesn’t have the same energy efficiency standards that are at the forefront of sustainability in cities, and building regulations aren’t as strict.
“When you talk about carrot and stick incentives, we probably need more sticks and more regulations that really force developers and other builders to do things in more sustainable ways,” he said.
While Barnes’ design style can be complicated – navigating code problems or fixing unexpected problems in an old building – he said the reward is an end product that is one of a kind.
“The aesthetics are on the side of older buildings and secure them,” he said. “You build something new, no matter how hard you try, it won’t look 100 years old or have the character you can see from such buildings.”
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https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2021/10/29/architect-jonathan-barnes-sustainable-vision-preserving-old-buildings
