Breaking Barriers by Preserving the Future: Fergus Falls Kirkbride
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Abstract
The thought came to me over the Summer when I was visiting
my hometown. There is a historical building called the Regional
Treatment Center (RTC), and over the years, I have seen many
attempts to repurpose it, but all have failed. We have visitors
come from across the country and even other continents to see
the RTC, and the city is losing out on potential profit for the
community by not utilizing the RTC. Now, the city wants to
tear the whole structure down (except the main tower), costing
over 9 million dollars. Along with the great cost, loss of visitors,
and loss to history, it is harmful to the environment by
destroying tons of building material from a building that is still
structurally sound. I know there must be a way to preserve this
building while making it useful in the present and future. My
goal is to break the barriers of past and present and the idea
that new is always better by creating a design for the building
that can benefit the community along with educating the public
by informing and stopping the rumors associated with it’s past.
By looking at the few other rescued Kirkbrides as examples, I
hope to create a design that will allow this one to thrive.