Norwest-Sullivan Bank Restoration

OPN Architects

Recognitions: 1992 Design Awards

Project Description

In the late 1980s, Norwest Bank purchased the Peoples Savings Bank in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The facility consisted of the original bank designed in 1911 by renowned architect, Louis H. Sullivan and two modern additions constructed in the 1950s and 1960s. The original Sullivan design was radically altered during the construction of the 1950s / 1960s additions. Changes to the original facility included dropping the ceiling to a point below the art class clerestory, eliminating all the marble and ornament in the bank lobby, covering the original tile floor, and altering the entry façade. OPN Architects teamed with Hasbrouck Peterson Zimoch Sirirattumrong, a historic restoration specialist from Chicago, Illinois to restore the 1922 structure to near original condition. An additional challenge during the restoration was to integrate new mechanical, electrical and computer systems in an unobtrusive manner so that what appears to be a 1911 facility functions like a 1990s bank.