The Residences at Rivermark is bringing new vitality to downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The 21-story Brutalist office tower, which is recognized as a local architectural icon, has been transformed to provide luxury apartments for a diverse group of residents: young professionals and families, empty nesters, and retirees.
Architect Gensler and local developer Wampold Cos. teamed up on the office-to-residential conversion, its third adaptive-reuse project together. According to Douglas Detiveaux, design director and senior associate at Gensler, Wampold has been progressive in looking for buildings that fit the adaptive-reuse bill and bringing them back to life. “Our client has a good eye for these projects,” he says.
For The Residences at Rivermark, the team worked to convert the top 14 floors of the tower into 168 apartments, replace an aging pedestrian passage connecting two office towers with the parking garage, and add a plaza retail pavilion at the ground level with a variety of high-end amenities for residents and office workers.
“Baton Rouge is a city that didn’t experience a large high-rise residential building boom that many major markets did. This old building downtown, which has fantastic views, seemed like a good candidate, and we were able to make the numbers work,” says Brooks Howell, a principal at Gensler. “Since we couldn’t build new, it turned out to be cheaper by leveraging [state] historic tax credits, etc., to take this existing building and convert it. Otherwise, there still wouldn’t be any high-rise housing in downtown Baton Rouge right now.”
The adaptive-reuse strategy included modifying the building’s tube-style concrete and pan-joist structural frame to create open balconies for the residences. Without impacting the building’s structural integrity, some of the exterior tube columns were removed to add the balconies, and that concrete was reused as benches in the ground-floor plaza. The team also retained defining characteristics and finishes to respect the original architecture. The open-concept floor plans of the one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments feature exposed concrete, natural wood finishes, wall paneling, chair railings, and shaker-style cabinetry.
“The redesign captures the past and brings it into the future through a graceful blend of Baton Rouge’s multicultural roots, 21st century possibilities, and gracious Southern sensibilities,” note the architects.
In addition, the team infused a variety of amenities that are open to both residents and office workers. The lobby, with the shared elevator bank and amenity space, was redesigned to serve all residents in the building. The rooftop with its views of the Mississippi River also features a pool, a hot tub, fire pits, and grill areas. Other amenities include a clubhouse, a fitness center, and pet amenities.
“The reality is the office space [in the building and its sister tower] became more successful after the residential was finished,” adds Howell. “People enjoy walking through the shared lobby. There also are people who work in the building who live in these apartments. We didn’t segregate the uses, and it turned out to be a huge asset to the exiting building.”
