Relic reuse
Factory reborn as architects’ office, lofts
As the maker of this country’s most popular frost-proof outhouse, Thomas Ward could have rested on his laurels, so to speak. But the founder of Pittsburgh Brass Manufacturing Co. also must have flushed with pride when he saw the four-story Classical Revival-style building where his company would produce water closets, church railings, valves, fittings and other metal items from the early 1900s until the 1960s.
No longer a factory, the building in the 3100 block of Penn Avenue in the Strip District now does double duty as the office of Indovina Associates Architects and the Brass Building Lofts (www.brassbuildinglofts.com). Last year, it was chosen as a finalist in the commercial category of the Renovation Inspiration Contest, and it remains a shining example of creative reuse for those entering the 2017-18 contest (see Page H-5).
“It’s an industrial architectural relic,” said Ryan Indovina, a principal with his father, Rob, in the firm. “It had potential for both residential and commercial use.”
But it wasn’t for sale when the architects were looking to move their office from Shadyside to Lawrenceville or the Strip District in 2014. Ryan found more than 20 buildings to his liking and sent letters of interest to the owners. Most responded, including the owner of this building.
“We saw it on a Friday and made an offer on Saturday. We didn’t waste any time,” his father said.
The Indovinas saw possibilities where others saw an empty brick, sandstone and bluestone building chopped up into a brass foundry,
machine shop, erecting shop, shipping room and offices.
Over more than 12 months, contractors sandblasted heavy wood timbers and interior masonry walls, removing 100 years of soot and many layers of paint. Allied Millwork fabricated five historically accurate doors, and Traco made more than 100 new windows, including the huge arched ones on the third floor. Almost as dramatic are the tall (7½-by-3½foot) double-hung windows that combine with 10- to 14- foot ceilings to give the 14 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments such great natural light.
The apartments, which range from 700 to 1,400 square feet, also have Blue Solutions high-gloss acrylicfront kitchen cabinets, GE stainless-steel appliances, Luna Pearl granite counters, hardwood, porcelain and ceramic tile floors and Delta fixtures.
Linda Indovina, Rob’s wife and Ryan’s mother, manages the apartments, where rents range from $1,000 per month for a onebedroom unit to $2,400 for a three-bedroom, two-bath space. She said the tenants range in age from 28-45 years old. Most are millennials who found their new homes on Craigslist.
The project entailed more than a major renovation. The Indovinas had to replace four floors of beams and 14-by-14-inch columns in one corner of the building. Rotted wood had caused the floors to sag 8-10 inches in the rear. They also preserved the foundry’s overhead trolley system and reused some of the old wood to make rustic block tables, adding architectural interest to their offices and conference rooms.
On the left side of the building, they designed and built a new wing to hold two new fire stairs and an accessible elevator for the apartments. The tower is clad in COR-TEN steel panels, a distinctive rust-weathered surface that requires little maintenance. Other nonhistoric parts of the building’s exterior were painted dark blue.
In February 2016, the Brass Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Mrs. Indovina helped prepare the application.
“We took what I always considered a unique building and made it a unique livable space,” she said. Kevin Kirkland: kkirkland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1978.