Photo: Frank Merrill Photography.

RELIANCE BUILDING
(Hotel Burnham)
Chicago, Illinois

Construction of the fifteen-story Reliance Building was completed in 1895. With a steel structural frame, narrow bands of decorative terra cotta and large bay windows, the Reliance Building offered a narrow, light (and light filled) high-rise alternative to the prevailing dense masonry office building model. The interior corridors were functional and elegant, comparable to "Class A" office space for their time.

Various door, sidelight and transom configurations were present in the Reliance Building corridors. Original Drawings: Antunovich Associates.

Mahogany doors with glass upper panels and lower panels of wood provided entry to individual offices. Four-foot high white Carrara marble wainscoting ran the length of the corridor, while a number of glass sidelight and transom configurations allowed light brought in by the exterior windows to suffuse the hall and open stairway. Mahogany trim outlined all of the glazed areas, doors and wainscoting. Beginning in 1997, the Reliance Building was rehabilitated for use as a 122-room hotel.

Problem

Floors eight through twelve retained their original features and layouts. Because of their historical significance and because the owners intended to focus upon that significance in marketing the hotel, rehabilitation plans were heavily influenced by a desire to preserve original materials and the distinctive character of the surviving space.

   Until the building underwent a major rehabilitation and its use classification shifted from office to residential, original corridor materials and features remained despite their non-conformance to updated building codes. Once converted to a residential high-rise, however, the rehabilitated corridors had to provide one hour of fire resistance, with a twenty minute rating for guest room doors. Glass sidelights and transoms and both wood and glass door panels throughout the historic floors did not meet this requirement.

Solution

To retain the transoms and sidelights while complying with code requirements, the architects designed a non-combustible assembly that was integrated into the existing wall on the hotel room side. The 3-1/8" thick wall consisted of two gypsum boards separated by steel studs and sealed to the existing ceiling and doorframe. Back painting the glass white obscured the new wall assembly from the corridor.

Corridor section (left) and door/transom section (right) in Reliance Building showing additional assemblies built behind historic glass and wood panels. Original drawing: Antunovich Associates. Click images to enlarge.

   The mahogany office doors were 2-1/2" thick with upper 1/8" thick glass and lower 1/4" thick wood infill panels. Both glass and wood panels were code deficient. To increase their fire resistance, two 3/8" gypsum boards were secured flush to the inside face of the glass and a single 5/8" sheet was used on the lower wood panel.

Completed Reliance Building corridor (Left) showing historic door panel, transom and sidelight. (Right) View of a Reliance Building door from inside guest room. Photos: NPS File.

New wood molding stained to match the original was placed around the border to secure and mask the edge of the added material. Mirrors were installed on upper panels facing the hotel rooms while lower panels were painted brown. Like the sidelights and transoms, the original glass was back painted with a white latex paint to conceal the infill panels from the corridor. Intumescent paint was applied between the door and frame to provide an effective smoke barrier and compensate for small irregularities in the fit of the historic doors. The mail slots were sealed and filled with a fire-rated putty. Sprinkler heads on the corridor-side wall above each door provided further protection. These heads were in addition to those specified by the building code.

   All surviving glass (plain, fluted and florentine) was retained in the door panels, sidelights and transoms. New plain glass was used in locations where the original was cracked or otherwise required replacement. Room numbers were lettered on the glass with gold leaf. Finally, the direction of the door swing was reversed so that they opened inward and automatic closers were added in keeping with standard exiting code requirements.

Original hardware including doorknobs, escutcheon plates and hinges were retained. Photos: McClier.

   Approval for these solutions had been obtained by submitting designs for upgraded doors and glazed areas to both the Chicago Committee on Building Standards and Tests and the Bureau of Fire Prevention. Following a process of negotiation and reviewing mock-ups installed in the building, these agencies determined that the proposed assemblies matched the level of protection specified in the code.

   Retaining the doors and corridor glazing led to the preservation of a host of other features, including the mahogany trim found throughout the corridors and unique door hardware. Historic magnetite hinges, mail slots, doorknobs and escutcheon plates (inscribed "Reliance") were also retained. This meant forgoing the keycards that are typical of new hotels in favor of traditional locks and keys. Installing a keycard system would have required replacing the historic escutcheon plates and knobs or significantly altering the door stile. Instead, a new mortise lock set appropriate to the door rating was installed and the original knob and escutcheon plate fitted over top.