Project: Office Interior - conversion of a billiard room into a modern conference room

Location: Corning, NY

Date:1999

Quality: High

Above: Beams were added to the ceiling to provide a chase for wiring and also to receive mini-recessed downlights as well as providing a source of lighting to flood the ceiling with indirect light.

Above: French doors were added to enclose an outdoor porch. The floor tiles were handmade to match those on the chimney.

Above: Arts and crafts period fireplace and chimney.

Above: Built-in cabinets were added for storage and display purposes.

Above: A display cabinet and marble floor was added to the entry - the handrail, previously inexplicably missing, was added to satisfy code and because it was shown on the original architect's drawings.

An arts and crafts period English Tudor style house had long been someone's residence but now is being used as an executive retreat. What used to be a billiard room was now to be used as a meeting and conference room and would utilize state of the art Audio Visual and IT technology.

As the ceiling was only 8'-0" high and was finished with hard plaster over 8" thick concrete it wasn't practical to cut chases into the ceiling or to lower it to accommodate all the necessary wiring and upgraded lighting. The solution was to provide hollow beams that would act as wiring chases and at the same time provide a means for getting new light fixtures to where they needed to be.

Because of the house's historical significance it was important to match exist-ing materials and finishes. A small sample of the wall paneling was taken to establish the species of wood as well as the nature of the finish. The wood was found to be Gumwood - surprisingly still readily available - with an anil-ine wood stain finish. Floor tiles for the circular alcove were handmade by a local artist to match those on the existing chimney exactly.