Building History

The Hegeler Carus mansion is a masterpiece of Second Empire and highly refined architecture of the 1870s.  The majority of the buildings perfectly intact to its original state.  The elaborate multi-level wood porch was designed with roof covering porticos and electrical lamps beyond what was constructed.  The majority of the original porch was off of the building a few years of its construction.  Partially repaired or reconstructed through the decades, it was fully reconstructed in 1997, only to fail again by 2003. 

Preservation and Building Pathology Challenges

The owners retained Brush Architects due to our reputation for creative problem solving within a strict guidelines provided by the Secretary of the Interior Standards.  The building has transitioned into a house museum.  The building’s preservation efforts have been perfectly applied to date with restoration of the interior finishes.  The porch however, was failing due to inherent issues with the original design, detailing, and conflict between an elaborate design intent versus what the family chose to construct. 

Design Solution

Brush Architects brought together a team of structural engineers – The Structural Group, and wood scientists, Anthony Associates, to determine the cause of extensive failure for the 1997 porch – how did well intended craftsmanship fail so completely.  and for the current designs – how do we guide the designs into a better solution.  The wood was analyzed for moisture, species, pathology, and performance.  The structure was analyzed for original intent and future performance to direct the design for load compliance within current code requirements.  The architectural solution originates in the original design intent, original construction drawings, photos, and physical components and guides the reconstruction toward a design compliant to all stakeholders – the original family ownership, the board of directors, Landmarks Illinois, and as a national landmark, the National park Service will also have an opinion on any deviation from the original design intent.