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Chambers Murphy and Burge Restoration Architects
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 9, 2012
It was a radical idea at the time: instead of tearing down and replacing crumbling urban business buildings, why not try to restore them?
In 1963, the Medina architectural firm of Chambers and Chambers pioneered the field of restorative architecture, said Elizabeth Corbin Murphy, who joined the firm in 1993.
Working out of those offices, the firm became worldwide leaders in saving urban buildings and rebuilding them to their former, or even greater, glory. The Chambers’ were among the first to apply new technologies and different sorts of materials to revivifying older buildings.
Murphy came into the firm after receiving a master’s degree in Architecture and Restoration from Kent State University in 1997. Her undergraduate degree is from Notre Dame, where she was a part of the first incoming freshman class that allowed women to enroll.
Murphy now owns and runs the firm along with her partner, Lauren Pinney Burge. Burge joined the firm at the same time as Murphy. The firm now operates out of offices on E. Market Street in Akron.
In addition to restoring the architecture itself, the firm can also restore interiors to their original finishes, using the original materials, through their company Origin Artisans. Origin Artisans applies the many decades of training in materials, structures, and historic investigation held by the professionals at CMB. Their techniques take years to master, and are also applicable to transforming modern spaces by recreating dozens of decorative painting styles. Their motto is: “Your Walls are Our Canvas.”
Restoring historic buildings takes more than just knowledge of architecture. Beyond just design, the firm is also completely cognizant of the various laws relating to their work, including all codes, laws of historic structures, and, especially, tax breaks that can allow a building owner to save as much as 30- 40 percent on reconstruction. This includes knowledge of Historic Structures Reports, National Register Nominations, and historic tax Act Certifications.
The tax breaks, said Murphy, “can revive wonderful historic structures, and put buildings back on line. This adds to the vibrancy of urban centers, and allows adaptive use of these buildings.”
In addition to historical research, design, and technical specifications, the firm works with highly specialized materials like integrally colored plaster, tile mosaics, decorative bronze work, stained glass, and tile roofing, engaging local artisans for fine artistic work.
Burge’s background includes certification in optical microscopy, which gives her the expertise to analyze materials like old paint chips to help precisely match the color and texture of older paints that are long out of production. This is particularly valuable in the work that is done by Origin Artisans.
Murphy is also an interior designer.
The firm can either restore a building to its historic structure or, if that is not feasible of desired by the owner, create a new building within the shell of the old one- or design a combination of the two, leaving, say, a lobby in historic form, and modernizing the office space above.
In order to recreate the past in the greatest detail, the firm engages the most modern technology, including on-line resources, computer aided drafting programs, software that enables accurate depiction of rectified photography for existing conditions, as well as esoteric equipment like a Borescope for non-destructive exploration in inaccessible areas, as well as Binocular Microscopes and a specialized system for color identification.
The firm is also a development partner with for a new software application that will allow photos to be taken through a tablet PC and annotated directly onto AutoCAD, a .pdf file, or photograph.
Besides numerous projects in the historic buildings of downtown Akron, the firm has worked with projects like the two Ford houses in Michigan, where CMB works with the preservation end of these historic museums. “We write the plans to take care of their fabrics,” said Murphy. Other projects include a few historic homes, courthouses, and the like around the state.
The firm is starting to look toward more modern buildings, from the mid- twentieth century, said Murphy—although restoring old strip malls be farther into the future.
Murphy is very happy to talk to any historic building owner about restoring buildings using tax credits. You can reach the firm’s website at www.cmbarchitects.com; Origin Artisans is at www.originartisans.com.