This Preservation Month, we celebrate the power of place, and the role preservation plays in shaping the future, revitalizing historic buildings, reconnecting communities, and helping us understand how places evolve over time.

At Quinn Evans, we believe preservation is a powerful design tool. It allows us to honor the past while creating spaces that serve today's needs. Hear from our team members Alyson Steele, FAIA, LEED AP; Colin MacKillop, AIA, LEED AP, CDT; Sara Langmead, AIA, PE, LEED AP; and Sara Timberlake, LEED Green Associate, NOMA, as they share how being rooted in preservation shapes the way we imagine what’s possible.

Rooted in Preservation: Revitalizing for the Future

Video Transcript

SARA LANGMEAD

We are designers and planners who appreciate history, and recognize the value of what previous generations have created, and see the potential of what older buildings can become.

One of my favorite things about being an architect is figuring out how to fit all the pieces into the puzzle. And so, an existing building can be a really fun design challenge. It’s not just about the spaces and how to fit them in the box. It's about the stories you can tell. It's about how you can highlight the traces of the previous life of the building and take that to enrich the experience for the next user.

SARA TIMBERLAKE

I find it really valuable that the work that we get to do plays a role in breathing new life into existing places or existing communities. Thinking not only about the end of the project, but thinking about the generations of people that are going to be working, and living, and playing in the spaces that we're designing for.

ALYSON STEELE

Our mission is to renew and reimagine existing places. Our roots are in preservation. And, in order to dig in to an existing fabric and understand how buildings learn and how they evolve over time, you really need to get into the material technical skills, understanding how they respond to change. At the same time, you have to understand how communities work and how they respond to change and be tending to both of those things at the same time.

COLIN MACKILLOP

It has been an honor to be a part of projects here at Quinn Evans, where we work closely with our clients to revitalize historic places that are cherished by their communities, and in doing so, really transform them into showplaces that combine the rich textures of the past with truly progressive and sustainable design and technology.