Avant
Adaptive Reuse of the Former Dulski Federal Office Building
The Avant project began with acquisition of a vacated federal office building and a vision to create a 24-hour, mixed-use facility in the heart of Buffalo’s Central Business District. The project was developed as a competition-winning design for the adaptive reuse of the obsolete 15-story, 450,000 sq. ft. federal office building.
The mixed-use space program includes a full-service hotel on the first seven floors, Class-A office space on floors eight through twelve, and luxury condominiums on the top three floors.
The design solution includes a new, 2-story glass lobby addition and replacement of precast concrete panels with a high-performance glass and aluminum unitized glass curtain wall. A continuous, double-curved façade extension acknowledges the primary building address on Delaware Avenue while creating dramatic views from interior spaces.
Site improvements include a new vehicular drive for hotel guests and visitors. Existing perimeter retaining walls were partially removed and enhanced with landscaping to provide a more pedestrian-friendly transition to the public sidewalks. Street trees were also added to enhance the urban pedestrian experience.
An Award-Winning Project
At the 8th annual New York State Environmental Excellence Awards in 2011, the Avant building was recognized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as one of five innovative programs working to sustain New York State’s resources and strengthen the economy.
