Foundation for Independent Living

Formerly the Sears Roebuck & Co. store, the building now serves as a corporate office for the Mountain State Centers for Independent Living. The original façade of the building was damaged from the previous removal of black tile installed during the operation of the Sears Roebuck & Co., requiring a portion of the façade to be demolished. ETA collaborated with the Owner to identify alternative designs to honor the Owner’s aesthetic vision and historic details.

The existing limestone surrounding the roof and third floor was repaired and new windows installed above a stone sill. The first and second floor exterior were retiled with a light porcelain tile, highlighting the original limestone. New windows, doors, and exterior lights were installed to provide a sleek, modern look for this historic building.

Bob Bailey Senior Wellness Center

The Cabell County Community Services Organization and the City of Huntington West Virginia chose a location in the heart of West Huntington’s Old Central City district for a new senior center.  The building sits on an abandoned railroad right of way which intersects 14th Street West, a vibrant antique district.  ETA partnered with Lifespan Design Studio as senior center design specialists for the project.  The design team developed a 3,500 square foot layout which optimizes ease of access and use by seniors, including rethinking the typical layout of a senior center by creating an interior central lobby which acts as a hub for activities within the building, including a medical triage and treatment space, fitness room, and a large, gathering space which can be divided into two spaces for exercise classes, dining, games, and activities.  An outdoor patio relates to the public gazebo structure to the east, enhancing interaction with community events.  The butterfly roof extends over the patio with slender, angled steel supports to shade from the western sun.  The interior and exterior are elevated with elegant, natural materials and furnishings designed by ETA’s interior design team.  The building serves as an extension of the vibrant streetscape, and will serve as a resource for the community for years to come.

Huntington Children’s Museum

The Huntington Children’s Museum is lead by a grass roots organization looking to improve the entertainment options for families in the Tri-State. While providing additional entertainment, the organization hoped that the new museum will entice families to remain in Huntington or attract new residents. The project began with the purchase of a 5,700 square foot former restaurant space in West Huntington. The building was then rehabilitated to meet current building codes, including providing new mechanical and electrical systems. The space was remodeled to host a variety of exhibits for the kids, featuring a range of topics and sensory items.

ETA worked closely with the Contractor and Owner through the construction process. The team worked to create an adaptable construction phase to accommodate the fluctuating budget as new funding opportunities were explored.

Mayor Joseph L. Williams, Jr. Fire Station

The site for the new station consisted of multiple parcels previously occupied by a gas station and dry cleaner, bounded by a neighborhood commercial arterial street and residential avenues. The station, traditionally associated with the city’s university, was shifted to a central location within a historically African American neighborhood. City and fire department leadership chose to name the new station after the first African American mayor to emphasize the connection to the community. Kelly green, the traditional color of the university, was incorporated into the design to reflect the station’s history.

To fit within the existing context, it was important for the building to respond to the neighborhood commercial frontage on 20th Street, as well as the residential character of 9th Avenue. The site design was driven by the need for pull-through access for the fire apparatus, with a secure parking area to the north and a lawn area to the west, softening the transition to residential neighbors. The Architects coordinated rerouting the existing alley and associated utilities to combine the parcels and facilitate pull-through access as part of the project. The building program included a training room for the fire department’s use, which the Architects chose to locate on the 20th Street façade to provide a public face to the structure that responded to the neighborhood commercial district.

The high apparatus bay is expressed with a sloping form of warm bronze metal panels that reinforces the direction of vehicular flow as well as shading the southern facade. Soft brick tones with metal panel accents are used to clad the lower surrounding forms.

The 7,087 square foot station is designed with the firefighters’ health and wellness at the forefront. Inset glass entry vestibules on the north and south facades provide separation and serve as decontamination zones between the apparatus bays and living areas. These entry points bookend spaces housing firefighting equipment, work areas, and gear storage lockers, gear washer and dryer, which contain firefighting gear and any associated contaminants within the apparatus bays. The apparatus bay is fitted with an exhaust removal system that connects directly to the vehicle exhaust. The design of the living quarters provides individual bunk rooms and restrooms, reflecting the fire department’s priority of accommodating all genders. Designed for shifts of six, the day room, dining and kitchen area open onto a covered patio connecting to a fenced side yard. A weight room also opens onto the patio to provide indoor/outdoor exercise options.

The station is served by an air cooled Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) system consisting of a centralized heat pump unit, indoor wall units and ceiling cassettes, The ability to simultaneously heat or cool gives each fire fighters quarters their own thermostatic control. This building is also equipped with an 58KW photovoltaic solar array.

Barboursville Library

The new Barboursville Public Library serves as a center for knowledge in its community, providing access to books, technology, and activities. The building’s first level features reading spaces for adults as well as private study rooms that provide a quiet space for individual learning. An outdoor reading room on the first floor is designed to accommodate a full class of students for learning and activities. The children and young adult resources are located on the second floor, providing a level of security to the space. Glass encloses the second level, designed to visually connect spaces in the library and retain acoustic separation. A media lab provides gaming and coding resources to young adults while a play area and activity room cater to children, emphasizing the importance of spaces for visitors of all ages.

The high-performance building design features insulated concrete form construction, geothermal wells for heating and cooling, and a 71-kilowatt solar array.

The exterior forms are clad in contrasting tones, using bronze, metal panels and a pearl-colored fiber cement rainscreen which resonate with the natural materials and earth-toned palette of the interior. Natural materials such as stone and laminated timber were carefully selected to reflect the context of the surrounding area through a modern lens.

The project is sited across the street from the village’s elementary school and located much closer to the middle school than the previous library, allowing for improved access by classes during the day as well as by students visiting the library after school. The site presented several challenges, specifically an active rail line along the southern edge, an active baseball field to the east, and a senior center to the north. The building form hinges to parallel the trajectory of the rail line, directing the front façade and entry toward the main pedestrian and vehicular access points.