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Architects Who Enrich Historic Properties
By Nora Richter Greer
from Preservation Magazine 2004

Ellen Cassilly

Architect Ellen Cassilly leads the life of a true preservationist. In 1999, eyeing revitalization of its old downtown, the city of Durham, N.C., announced incentives to purchasers buying building there for renovation. Cassilly eagerly bought one (the 1959 Home Federal Savings and Loan Bank) and successfully transformed it into workspaces, one of which is now her office. The building is located on the edge of Durham’s central park, and the firm is even now designing a farmer’s market for the park.

Although not a strict preservationist, Cassilly says she has a respectful regard for the existing environment. "We believe that smart design should focus on individual building and the impact each building has on the surrounding community. Our buildings are designed to inspire connections between people, their community, and the environment." Saving historic buildings, even if just recycling them, maintains a sense of place and fortifies the fabric of the city. Cassilly says.

Raised in St. Louis, Cassilly learned to value place and tradition as she traveled each year with her family to her uncle’s antebellum estate in Mississippi. There she always found work in progress – a laboratory for would-b landscape architect/architect. Working in Boston with the firm Steffi and Bradley after graduating with a master’s from the University of Pennsylvania (and a bachelor’s degree in environmental design from Texas A&M), Cassilly found her future sensibilities influenced by her renovation of two schools for housing – one on Nantucket island and the other in Jamaica Plain, Mass. – as well as a grand old apartment building in Cambridge, Mass.

In Durham, her architecture firm specializes, she says, in "intelligent design that fosters vibrant urban design communities." The work includes renovation, new construction, adaptive use, and urban infill. "We place a high priority on creating walkable urban neighborhoods that minimize sprawl, preserve natural open spaces, and attract lifelong residents, while simultaneously protecting the environment."

Her historic sensibilities can be seen in the renovation of an 1840’s farmhouse, the Oxford House. The house, built by the client’s grandfather, was in a state of disrepair, and the client wanted to completely modernize it without sacrificing its historic significance. The solution was to tuck the new master suite in a back wing so as not to compromise the graceful simplicity of the original structure. It is only when you walk through the house that you discover the three sections–the original living quarters, the kitchen area, and the new wing. In the historic structure, windows provide excellent cross-ventilation to keep the house cool in the summer’s heat and allow views to both the newly created courtyard and the rolling pasture.

In another project, the firm supervised the relocation of a 1954 house designed by the renowned architect George Masamoto, who taught at North Carolina State University. The effort involved moving parts of the house through three counties and reconstructing the missing elements according to Masamoto’s original plans, found in his archives. If the house hadn’t been moved, it would have been demolished. Cassilly considers this an increasingly viable preservation solution over time, because no major renovations were undertaken since.

This article was published in Preservation Magazine, 2004.