Kenton County Administration Building | Covington, KY
PROJECT FACTS: Owner: Kenton County Services: Architecture, Engineering, Planning, Interiors
In 2019, the more than 100-year-old former Bavarian Brewing Co. building will become home to Kenton County’s administrative offices and Kenton County Planning and Development Services. Elevar Design Group is currently working on this high-profile, $24M project is located along Interstates 71 and 75 at the former Bavarian Brewery site at 1200 Jillians Way. The existing space for the County was lacking adequate operational and parking space. After a long and complicated process, the County decided on the Bavarian Brewery site as their new home. This design/build project will house all of the County government under one roof. The tower from the brewery will remain and a new five-story office building will be connected with a pedestrian bridge. The complex of buildings, located at 522 W. 12th St. in Covington, were occupied until 1966 when Bavarian Brewing closed. Construction started on most of the complex as it is known today in 1903. Jillian’s nightclub operated at the site from the late 1990s until it abruptly closed in 2006. Many of the features from when the building was occupied by Jillian’s were still in the space, which has been vacant for more than a decade. Kenton County purchased the property from Columbia Sussex lin 2016, who had intended to convert the brewery building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, to shops and restaurants. However, those plans never came to fruition. The redevelopment of the Bavarian Brewery building into office space is expected to be complete in 2019. A second building on the site (303 Court Street) will be developed into housing complex which will transform the Covington community.
Project Feature
Kenton County Administration Building | Covington, KY
The new Kenton County Administration building design is about balanced juxtaposition. The existing brewery building is eclectic with ornamental masonry, undulating faรงades, diverse shape and window pattern, and erratic roof line. In contrast, the new addition is a streamline, orthogonal, mono-planar faรงade of glass and metal. The first has unique details and undulations to welcome passersby while the second is a monolithic mass, designed to communicate authority and importance. It is this careful balance between old and new; eclectic and utilitarian; human scale and monumental that makes the design of the two-building complex visually interesting. The delicately balanced design is tied together by a few thoughtful commonalities in architectural language and pattern. Maintaining the iconic beige color across both buildings visually stitches the two buildings into one. Changing the color palate on one building confuses this balance and draws unwanted attention to one over the other. It is our recommendation to maintain a consistent color across both buildings.
Project Feature