In the summer of 2022, I signed on with The Alexander Company to do incredibly unique work: low-income apartments as urban infill to historic buildings. This introduced me to multiple different state building codes along with each housing authority and set of standards they held. Grants and point systems are common, like Wisconsin’s WHEDA. The limitations around what was counted as “historic” are different for each state, and researching what kind of alterations we can make as well as how much original material needs to remain is a critical part of each project. Matching older styles of wall material, trim, and fixtures with modern equivalents comes later.
Full site surveys are required, like soil drills to determine how far down a water pocket goes, or LiDAR point cloud surveys for an accurate site if we get conflicting documents. Site visits are plentiful: first to get basic dimensions if none are provided; then to inspect the building for abnormalities; then to recheck our site limitations against the modern requirements. The sites range from modern construction to powdering brick and centuries-old old service ladders.
The Alexander Company also has a property management branch in-house, which allowed me to see that process from the other side instead of living it, along with the development branch that finds projects. Above all, this position was been an invaluable place to learn, and this type of work is exactly what I wanted to pursue in my design.
