Brush joins Holabird & Root as new preservation group leader

Holabird & Root is pleased to announce that Mary Brush, AIA, NCARB, has joined the firm’s staff as the Preservation Group Leader and will be based in the Chicago office. Mary comes to Holabird & Root from Klein and Hoffman, Inc., where she specialized in the technical elements of building preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration.

“The overall understanding of a building’s characteristics, and its deterioration patterns, can be identified as the building pathology,” said Mary. “If it is assumed that a building starts aging or deteriorating as soon as construction is complete, then there will always be areas requiring maintenance. Each building provides its own lessons in design, construction, and maintenance – all of which must be understood if a building is to reach its first century and beyond.”

Mary has a Master of Science in Historic Preservation, as well as a Master of Architecture. She is the 2005 laureate of the prestigious Richard Morris Hunt Fellowship.

Mary is experienced with remote industrial access as well as swing stage suspension systems. Investigation techniques include visual, technical non-destructive testing, as well as strategic removal and reinstallation of materials to view building construction details. Material specialties include, but are not limited to: historic roofing systems, terra cotta, stone, granite; wood, steel, or cast iron frame window systems; stained glass conservation, plaster systems, and historic finishes. Previous projects include exterior restoration of the Monroe Building, the Gage Building and the Rookery Building.

Founded in 1880, the firm has consistently contributed to the architectural fabric of the United States. Innovative from the start, the firm has designed noteworthy architectural monuments including the Marquette Building, The University Club, The Chicago Board of Trade, and The Monroe Building. Holabird & Root provides in-house skills and talents with structural, mechanical, interior and architectural design. The Preservation Group is a logical addition to the firm as an opportunity to preserve and modify buildings of our own design, and those by our contemporaries. Current or recent projects within Holabird & Root include buildings by Mies van der Rohe, The Chicago Cultural Center, and The Lakeview Presbyterian Church.