Working on the Cutting Edge
I believe that city centers can provide a vital and interesting realm in which to live, and I have a strong desire to rebuild and revitalize cities as an alternative to suburban sprawl.
In working with community groups and developers to bring back distressed communities, we have found historic preservation to be a powerful part of the solution. Bringing new life to underutilized historic buildings and transforming them to provide new value as community landmarks and symbols of progress can generate even more interest and development in a neighborhood.
By using this approach, and leveraging related resources such as historic preservation tax credits, people’s visions are made into reality by transforming neglected, forgotten or blighted buildings into assets. To revisit a project site, perhaps years later, and see people living, working and playing in and around these renewed communities — that’s the reward.
Elisabeth Knibbe, FAIA, LEED AP is a Principal at Quinn Evans Architects’ Ann Arbor office and has over 25 years of experience in architecture and historic preservation. She is dedicated to a wide range of adaptive reuse and community revitalization projects, including residential, office and hotel space.
