HIstoric Preservation
Preserving our past and building our future.
BVH’s practice and values are rooted in our philosophy of protecting and conserving historic and cultural resources.
BVH staff are known for their skilled technical preservation competence and many years of hands-on experience with historic buildings and sites throughout our region. We have completed more than 2000 historic preservation commissions, including more than 500 on the National Register for Historic Places, including hundreds of National Historic Landmarks. In the past five years, BVH has also been directly involved in the preservation and rehabilitation of four of the “Eleven Most Endangered” buildings identified by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We have also successfully completed more than 220 projects for the National Park Service since 1999.
SERVICES
BVH historic preservation services include:
- Restoration/Rehabilitation Design, Bidding and Construction Administration Services
- Building Condition Assessments and Feasibility Studies
- Historic Structure Reports (HSR) and Cultural Landscape Reports (CLR)
- Conservation Management Plans and Preservation Planning
- Stakeholder Engagement, Town Hall Meeting and Collaborative Workshops
- Building and Site Documentation for Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS)
- 3D Laser Scanning and Drone Photogrammetry
- NEPA and Building Code/Fire and Life Safety Code Services
- National Register for Historic Places Research and Documentation
- Historic Preservation Tax Credit and Grant Applications
- Cyclical Maintenance Plans
LEADERSHIP
Since our founding, BVH has been a leader in the development of preservation organizations and actively participated in and played leading roles in local, national, and international historic preservation organizations.
- The Association for Preservation Technology International
- AIA Historic Resources Committee
- The National Trust for Historic Preservation
- DOCOMOMO US
- US Green Build Council
- Colorado Preservation, Inc
- History Colorado
- History Nebraska
- Historic Denver
- Preservation Association of Lincoln
- Restoration Exchange Omaha
- Nebraska State Historic Preservation Board
Understanding Historic Preservation & Adaptive Reuse
Sustainability is at the heart of our practice
Throughout our history, BVH has been a regional and national leader in sustainable design as well as preservation of historic buildings and sites. BVH has been at the forefront for decades by blending existing building renewal with emerging practices in sustainable design and helping developing tools, documenting best practices, and preparing educational materials to achieve the sustainable use of the existing building stock. In just over the past seven years BVH has restored or designed over $150M of LEED certified projects.
Our team’s experience in providing realistic solutions to unique building problems enables our project teams to achieve the complementary goals of preserving our cultural heritage and preserving our natural resources.
Historic preservation is, by its nature, “green” and very much part of a sustainable design strategy. In designing repair or preservation of a historic building, we seek to provide the means to repair, reinforce, maintain, repair, and extend the useful life of the building, using methods that are technically sound, aesthetically appropriate, durable, and reasonable in cost. Repairs that are durable tend to be environmentally friendly by minimizing the energy and materials required for subsequent maintenance or replacement.
By extending the life of an existing building, preservation sustains the usefulness of building materials manufactured and constructed in the past, reducing the need to manufacture new materials and construct new buildings, thereby conserving natural resources and energy.
Every Project Deserves a Deep Dive
Understanding the Problem
We approach preservation and adaptive reuse projects as we would any other: as a solution to future problems. By studying thoroughly the history of each building, its site, and users, and forecasting how a structure will be used by future generations, we’re able to better understand a building’s potential, and therefore design ingenious solutions which not only address the problems at hand but set a precedent for the future.
Identifying the Approach
Each building is unique in its response to time, weather, and human use. Our goal is not to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to preservation, but instead study each building to discover how best to treat it. We use state-of-the-art tools and technology to help guide us, but we always seek out the most appropriate way to preserve, adapt, re-use, or reinvent an existing structure.
Finding the Solution
Architectural design is a process of continually responding to what is already there. The right solution, therefore, must take into account numerous factors—environmental change, human impact, material sensitivity, and even the original designer’s intent. Our aim is to solve each problem in a way that not only utilizes and draws from the inspiration of the past, but provides a beautiful, sustainable solution from which others will draw future inspiration.
Key Projects
BVH has an extensive successful track record and experience managing and directing historic preservation projects for hundreds of clients including state, local and federal governmental and nonprofit agencies. Our clients have included the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, US Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Army, and many state and local governments, universities, religious and educational institutions, and thousands of private clients.Recent experience includes the design of many visitor centers, museums, interpretive centers, recreational facilities, public assembly places, maintenance and housing facilities including:
Gateway Arch Conservation
Nebraska State Capitol
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
Dr. Susan LaFlesche Picotte Memorial Hospital
M’s Pub
Moon Block Building
Warren Distribution
Rail & Commerce Building
Douglas County Courthouse Hall of Justice Murals
Harry S. Truman Home
Little Rock Central High School
J.M. Pile Hall
Cooper Hewitt Museum
Freer Gallery of Art
Want to learn more?
We’d love to talk to you about your project.
Julie Cawby, RA, NCARB
Historical Architect
Email | 402.413.6634
Denver