Engineering: 105 Second Street Historic Renovation

HBH Engineers was engineer for owner/developer Larry Lipscomb's historic renovation project at 105 Second St. in Ozark. Elite Construction was general contractor and Jack Ball & Associates was architect for the 3,600-square-foot project, which cost approximately $105,000 and was finished in December. Katherine Dowdy of Heritage Research Company in Ozark provided necessary information for this project, which renovated the space into office space on the first floor and a loft on the second floor. Once the building envelope was restored and demolition of nonhistoric interiors was finished, a new interior design was addressed. HBH worked closely with Jack Ball & Associates to develop an overall design scheme integrating architecture and engineering. The office space design contrasts with the rigid, rectilinear form of the early 20th century structure. A curved, single-loaded corridor connects the reception area to the conference room at the rear of the building. This curve is mirrored by a similar curve of smaller proportions, which amplifies the strict grid of the original brick structure. By creating new interior walls with such contrast to the historic design, a clear juxtaposition is made between old and new. A similar design strategy is implemented in the second-floor loft, but with angles instead of curves.