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Richardson Olmsted Campus
  • National Historic Landmarks
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  • National Historic Landmarks

Richardson Center Corporation, Buffalo, NY

Restoration and revival for modern use

The former Buffalo State Hospital, a National Historic Landmark designed by H.H. Richardson, is being transformed into a mixed-use campus of public and private activities. As preservation architect working with Deborah Berke & Partners and Flynn Battaglia Architects, Goody Clancy is charged with the core building exterior renovation, which includes the iconic Towers Administration Building and the two adjoining buildings, which together will house a hotel, event and conference space, and the Buffalo Architecture Center.

The complex was designed by Richardson in 1872 with landscape design by Frederick Law Olmsted following the Kirkbride Plan guidelines established in the 1860s to create a humane treatment environment through the design and organization of the buildings and grounds.

The project will preserve, rehabilitate, and adaptively reuse the core of the Richardson Olmsted Complex’s buildings and north landscape, providing a sustainable and innovative design. By respecting the original architects’ intent and surviving fabric, the program, preservation and economic goals of the project come together to create an inspiring reuse for this historic site.

Goody Clancy’s 2010 Historic Structure Report for the complex provided a full understanding of the historic significance of the buildings, their current conditions, the character-defining features and significance, and the appropriate treatment recommendations. The report is a valuable tool for the subsequent reuse planning and a foundation for the exterior envelope renovation that includes the masonry, roof, and windows.

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Program

  • Boutique hotel
  • Event and conference space
  • Buffalo Architecture Center

Size

280,000 GSF renovation + adaptive reuse

Collaborating Firm

Deborah Berke & Partners (Design Architect)
Flynn Battaglia Architects (Architect of Record)

Awards

  • AIA Architecture Award
  • AIA Interior Design Award
  • AIA New York Honor Award
  • AIA New York State Excelsior Award
  • AIA New York State Design Awards, Citation for Design
  • Driehaus Preservation Award, National Trust for Historic Preservation
  • Preservation League of New York State, Excellence in Historic Preservation Award
  • Preservation Buffalo Niagara, Project of Distinction Award
  • University of Buffalo, School of Architecture & Planning, Dean's Medal
  • Society of American Registered Architects (SARA), New York Council, Design Award of Merit
  • The Architect's Paper, Best of Design Award, Honorable Mention
  • AIA Buffalo/WNY Preservation Design Award
  • New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Historic Preservation Award
  • Interior Design Magazine, Best of Year Award Winner for Hotel Transformation

Links

Buffalo’s Richardson Olmsted Complex website
Buffalo Rising: “A Fresh Look at the Richardson-Olmsted Complex”

Photographers

© Christopher Payne/Esto

Goody Clancy Preservation News

  • AIAU Picks Up Embodied Carbon 101 Series
  • RIBA Webinar Series – Global Architecture Exchanges
  • Lori Ferriss Discusses Preservation of Historic Structures in SCUP Webinar Series
  • Read more →

On the Boards

  • Engineering Building Renovation and Addition
  • Integrated Science Center 4
  • College of Business
  • Read more →

Sustainability & Resilience

At Goody Clancy, our environmental philosophy is founded upon macro-resiliency in planning for neighborhoods and communities and the sustainable design of new and renewed buildings, systems, and the user environment.

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