Buffalo, New York, USA
One of Buffalo’s most iconic buildings and a National Historic Landmark, the 145-year-old Richardson Olmsted Campus is being renewed after years of neglect.
Designed by great American architect Henry Hobson Richardson and the famed landscape team of Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the building incorporated a system of enlightened treatment for people with mental illness developed by Dr. Thomas Story Kirkbride.
Now, the Richardson Olmsted Campus is home to one of the largest historic preservation projects in the nation. Since 2006, the nonprofit Richardson has been hard at work bringing the site back to life after it was abandoned as the former Buffalo State Asylum for the Insane.
The hospital now has been gloriously transformed into a mixed-use campus of public and private as one of Buffalo’s architectural treasures with a complex history has been reinvented for public use.
The complex has now been renewed as the Hotel Henry, Urban Resort Conference Center and Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo.
The architect team of Buffalo-based Flynn Battaglia Architects, along with Deborah Berke Partners and Goody Clancy, were selected to design the new boutique hotel, event and conference space and the new Lipsey Architecture Center Buffalo.
Deborah Berke Partners and Flynn Battaglia Architects collaborated on a new glass entry pavilion reorients the building toward the restored Olmsted landscape. Its light, transparent, and contemporary architectural language respectfully contrasts Richardson’s masonry building.
At night, the new addition glows like a lantern, while the illuminated towers give the building a heightened presence from a distance.
The monumental scale of the building was preserved, including the generous, light-filled corridors. Tiny former patient rooms were combined to create modern guest rooms.
A catalyst for the redevelopment of massive complex, the project is a model for how asylum buildings (of which there are dozens across the country) can be repurposed for contemporary uses that add to their communities.
As historic preservation architect, Goody Clancy was 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 architecture center.
The landscape re-design was completed by Andropogon Associates, internationally recognized for ecological landscape architecture.
Their new design reinvents the landscape and circulation as both contemporary and Olmstedian. By answering the question “What would Olmsted do now?”, the design builds upon Olmsted’s original intent. The South Lawn signals the start of the redevelopment of this iconic site, creating a welcoming gathering place to have a picnic, take a walk, or enjoy an event.
The Richardson Olmsted Complex South Lawn is a nine-acre distinctive gateway and a welcoming, innovative public space. It was part of the Core Project – the first phase of development.
“We are excited to transition from years of thorough planning to a more active stage of rehabilitation, reuse and construction,” said Richardson Center Corporation Chairman Stan Lipsey.
“The Richardson Olmsted Complex will play a vital role in continuing the impressive growth of our regions cultural tourism business, while simultaneously offering the market a unique and compelling hospitality product.”
Architects: Deborah Berke Partners
Executive Architects: Flynn Battaglia Architects
Historic Preservation Architects: Goody Clancy
Original Architect: Henry Hobson Richardson
Original Landscape Architects: Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux
Client: Richardson Center Corporation (RCC)
Restoration Landscape Architects: Andropogon Associates
Photographers: Christopher Payne
