New Life Breathed into St. Louis' Bee Hat Building

At its grand opening in 1905, St. Louis' Bee Hat Building was noted for the detailed terra cotta ladies gracing its roofline and the 12 ornate terra cotta lion heads on the building's exterior just above the first floor.

Used for office space and hat storage until 2000, the Bee Hat returned to grandeur in the heart of the former garment district along Washington Avenue recently.

Three St. Louis-area companies, BHAT Development, Paric Corp. and Charles E. Jarrell Mechanical Contractors, have breathed new life into the lion heads as part of a $6.2 million renovation project.

In a preliminary design meeting, building owner Matt Burghoff and a team of engineers devised a concept that allowed steam to "roar" out of each lion's mouth - which were configured as part of the building's drainage system by original architect Issac Taylor -at various intervals, creating an impressive sight for pedestrians.

The team designed and installed the special steam feature by using the 17-mi. steam loop that Trigen, an energy provider, extends throughout downtown.

Steam is fed to each lion mouth through small nozzles fitted through holes drilled in the terra cotta heads. The system is controlled by an automatic timer, but through a specially designed remote control, the lions can "breathe" on demand.

"I was looking for a design feature that would help make the building stand out from the crowd," Burghoff added.

The Bee Hat was converted into 36 loft apartments, underground parking and 10,000 sq. ft. of street-level retail space, including The Dubliner restaurant and Paperdolls, a women's fashion boutique. Work was completed in June.

Harley Ellis Again Named to 'Best and Brightest' List

Harley Ellis Devereaux, the planning, architecture, engineering, interior architecture, landscape architecture and construction services firm, was named one of Chicago's 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the Warren, Mich.-based National Association for Business Resources at its annual awards luncheon and ceremony held recently in Oak Brook.

Harley Ellis was also a winner last year, in NABR's inaugural year for the event in the Chicago area.

The firm received additional recognition with an "Elite Award" in the category of Community Initiatives, which acknowledges the extent to which the organization is committed to improving the local community while providing the encouragement and time for employee contribution and participation.

The Chicago office joins Detroit, who has held similar recognition as one of the 101 Best & Brightest Places to Work for in Metropolitan Detroit for the past four years.

Hydrotech Honored for Green Roof in Seattle

Chicago-based American Hydrotech Inc. was recently recognized by Toronto-based Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

Hydrotech was honored for the Ballard Library project in Seattle in the Extensive Institutional category in the Green Roof Awards of Excellence during the Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities conference held in Boston.

The Ballard project consists of a waterproofing membrane, insulation and drainage/moisture retention elements, which are part of a Garden Roof Assembly that American Hydrotech supplies.

The awards celebrate projects that are holistically designed and provide benefits in terms of the function of the building, its relation to the site and surrounding community.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is the North American green roof industry association whose mission is to increase awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roof infrastructure across North America.

Metal Design Is a Beach

Students typically head to the beach in the summer.

This year, design and architecture students entering the Student Competition of the Glenview-based Metal Construction Association can call their beach visits research because the competition will focus on designing a beach house and waterfront amphitheatre.

Now in its ninth year, this competition offers a chance for students of U.S. and Canada-based schools of architecture to learn about designing and building with metal.

Entrants must address architectural, structural, functional, cultural and environmental issues in the design of a project that uses metal in sheets or other forms as well as metal structural members. Entries can be the work of an individual or a team, and each project must have a faculty sponsor.

Through this annual program MCA has awarded $5,750 each year for the past eight years to students, faculty sponsors and the schools of the competition's winning entries. However, this year MCA has raised the total of the prizes to $7,800.

Entrants must consider significant aspects of the location, climate, the local community and history of the area.

This year's challenge to design a 4,800-sq.-ft. beach house with a bait shop/convenience store and lakefront amphitheatre with a restaurant also includes paying attention to other area activities, such as the environmental restoration that has made it a place of refuge from the busy city life and for bird-watching

All plans must meet the standard criteria for building design in the Chicago climate and also use green building concepts as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED building standards. Metal should be used as the primary structural material and metal materials should be prominent in the design, although other materials may be used as well.

The deadline for entries is Nov. 6.

Questions can be directed to Marge O'Connor at 630-539-1347.

Niles Township Named 'Charp' Winner for Technology