Great Spaces Great Places 2009

Every year, FOX CITIES Magazine recognizes attractive and iconic buildings, new and old, tall and short, in the place we call home.

In our fourth annual Great Spaces, Great Places (GSGP) contest, we again challenged the community to nominate buildings in four categories measuring the design, placement and impact of the structures that we drive by every day.

BEST NEW CONSTRUCTION 2009

Richard & Margot Warch Campus Center; 711 E. Boldt Way, Appleton

From the structure itself to its hillside location, the judges were crazy about Lawrence University’s new construction.

Before the new Warch Campus Center, there was Memorial Hall, a space that the student body outgrew. “There was really only one large room to use as an event space,” says Greg Griffin, the Warch Campus Center’s director. “While it was built in a different era and met the needs at the time, so much has changed since then. It was important to be able to centralize things and add new features.”

From committees and studies to approvals and cancellations, it took nearly two decades to get it designed, funded and built. Through private funding, generous gifts and capital campaigns, the Warch became a reality.

The new university commons has many characteristics worthy of the Best New Construction award, one being that it’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified as Gold.

About 96% of the building that stood where the Warch is today – the Hulbert House, built in 1908 – was recycled in the Warch. Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore came in and took out the light fixtures, wall structures and copper piping, while the actual brick of the old house was pulverized and used in the foundation of the Warch plaza.

The backside of the building features a sea of windows, from which you can see the Fox River, an aspect the university wanted to turn to and celebrate. In turn, we celebrate it as 2009’s Best New Construction.

BEST EXISTING BUILDING 2009

Fox Valley Lutheran High School; 5300 N. Meade St., Appleton

Situated on a 68-acre site, Fox Valley Lutheran (FVL) High School features exceptional learning amenities, a 900-seat auditorium, two gymnasiums and unique curricular wings surrounding the central Media Center.

Principal Paul Hartwig says the old high school had no rhyme or reason. “This new building allowed us to be more organized academically and administratively,” he says. They chose architectural team Somerville, Inc., a design firm out of Green Bay, and McMahon Group of Neenah for its engineering expertise. “We wanted to hire an outside-the-box firm,” says Hartwig.

The parochial high school’s Building Committee urged Somerville, Inc., to incorporate the religious mission into the design, while keeping the growing student population in mind.

“Although the facility was constructed before the sustainable ‘green’ era caught on, the building was ahead of its time relative to its utilization of recyclable materials, cool daylighting and super efficient energy systems and control features,” says Michael Kadow, president of Somerville, Inc.
Today, about 750 students benefit from the modern, technology-integrated facility. One of its more recognizable attributes is the 60-foot bell tower with intricate masonry and double rowlock brick in the top’s cross.

But it’s the funding of the school that makes the structure most unique. “One of the strengths of our school is that it’s not being funded by two or three big donors, but by thousands of people who are committed to this,” Hartwig says.

BEST CHANGES 2009

Unison Credit Union
1000 Hyland Ave., Kaukauna

Originally built in the 1970s, the credit union was in desperate need of a face-lift. “We wanted to make it more energy efficient,” says Cheri Ver Voort, Unison’s executive vice president. “Before the remodel, we had single-pane windows and a flat roof. It was not conducive for energy conservation.”

They called upon Gries Architectural Group, Inc., of Neenah, for the project. Starting in February 2009, the changes on deck included a new roof, windows and installation. They  took the opportunity to incorporate some high-tech offerings in the office that the old building wasn’t capable of supporting. It was also remodeled to look like its sister branches in Little Chute and Wrightstown.

“We took a look at the existing building, and it didn't fit into the Unison Credit Union model for aesthetics, energy efficiency or functional spaces for the employees and CU members,” says Mark Keating, an architect at Gries.

“It turned out just like we want it to,” Ver Voort says. “It was a challenge for [Gries] to make it look like our other offices. We get many positive member comments.”

Completed this past May, the exterior and interior “spiff ups” have been highly celebrated.

BEST HISTORICAL LANDMARK 2009

Doty Cabin; 701 Lincoln St., Neenah

When it came down to voting for the #1 historical structure this year, the judges reminded each other to ask the question: “What building can’t we afford to lose?”

Situated in Neenah’s Doty Park, the log cabin has a history dating back to the early 1800s.

For $600, James D. Doty purchased 100 acres of land from the federal government. In 1845, Doty Cabin was built and nicknamed the “Grand Loggery.” But the family left Wisconsin when Mr. Doty was appointed to Superintendency of Indian affairs in Utah by President Lincoln. He died in 1865 and three years later, Mrs. Doty sold the cabin. For a short while it served as a resort before it was abandoned.

In 1926, the cabin was bought by John Strange and moved to its historic site in Doty Park. But after another wave of neglect, the original cabin was replaced with a replica in 1948.

For years, the cabin has served as a field-trip destination for area school children.