Skinner Hall
Design for Change
One of a collection of buildings serving children attending the historic Clarke School for the Deaf, this concrete and masonry building (designed by a Clarke School graduate in 1933) was built to be the Boy’s Shop. It once had a garage in the walk-out basement and two levels of woodworking and metal machine tools; more recently it had been used for storage. Bonham & Douglas was engaged to convert the three-story building into a multi-family residential complex with eight units.
Skinner Hall Kitchen
Skinner Hall Interior
Skinner Hall Interior
Design for Resources
Oversized single pane metal-framed windows were preserved, with the addition of new interior storm windows to improve energy efficiency and tenant comfort. Existing wood floors, in some places warped and rotten from water infiltration, were carefully refurbished with new stone thresholds at entries. Original metal staircases were reused and terrazzo floors and baseboards were repaired and polished to their previous shine. Concrete encased steel beams and ceilings were patched and painted. New energy-efficient wood front doors were installed in existing openings.
