It was in the early 2000’s that Fairmount High School, built in the 1870’s, was about to collapse, and the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana asked Architura Corporation to help with the historic building renovation and historic building preservation of the structure. It was a large project, one that would encompass over 20,000 square feet and a budget of over $4 million. In addition, when Architura was finished, the beautifully historic structure housed many new historic centers and areas; as well as a new parking structure that keeps with the historic feel of the building.
Once the building was completed in 2007, a steel structural frame was incorporated into the existing structure to make it sounder, safer, and bring it up to today’s building code standards. The completion also included a library and a museum filled with exhibits and artifacts in honor of James Dean and Jim Davis, the man who created the comic Garfield. The windows, also of original design and in bad need of repair, were replaced with ones that were more modern in design, but kept the historic look and feel of the original.
A parking structure was also included, but to keep the historic landmark from being surrounded by concrete, landscaping berms edge the parking lot to keep it hidden. From this parking lot, visitors can enter the building through the new doorway that Architura designed.