Architectural Salvation p.c.
Architectural Salvation
Architectural Salvation is a full service architecture firm specializing in the renovation, restoration and expansion of vintage residential architecture.
I started my own firm in 2015 as a way to capitalize on my experience and follow my passions. My interest in private homes and residential architecture stems largely from my experience in hospitality design. Design of either is a delicate balance between achieving function and creating an experience and neither can be overshadowed.
Finding ways to creatively adapt existing homes to meet the needs of current and future generations is something I feel deeply passionate about. Through my experience, I have come to understand that there are a multitude of rewards that building on the past can reap; ethically, aesthetically and financially.
Rob Gatzke, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
After receiving my BArch from Pratt Institute I began my career in a NYC firm designing high end interiors for large corporate clients including General Electric, Goldman Sachs and NBC. I also had the opportunity to work on several residential projects.
In 1999, I joined Gensler, a global Architecture firm with 43 offices and over 4,800 professionals and became the director of a studio specializing in Hospitality. I later became a Partner in the firm and was an integral part of expanding the firm’s hospitality practice in the northeast region, including New York, Boston, Toronto and New Jersey.
I have always been aware of the impact architecture has on the environment and strive to be a voice to educate and advocate for change. In 2000 I was involved in the ‘beta test’ for what would become the USGBC LEED® program. I was one of the first LEED accredited professionals and worked to increase sustainable awareness within the firm, and with my clients.
The greenest building is one you don’t build.
As the Hospitality Studio leader, I had a practice that specialized in the renovation of hotels and ‘adaptive reuse’ of existing buildings into hotels. We found that, in many cities, there was a notable stock of significant architecture that had outgrown the purpose for which they were originally designed. Small floor plates to allow in ‘light and air’ and low ‘floor to floor’ heights rendered them obsolete to serve most current needs. Ironically, these and other limitations were assets for hotel planning. We worked with our clients to repurpose these structures as hotels.
Giving these antiquated buildings new life gave me a new understanding of responsibility. We creatively found new opportunities and purpose for these structures and saved them from becoming landfill. This coupled with the drop in real-estate value and increased vacancy rate over the last two recessions made this a very viable business strategy for many of our clients. Together we produced many significant and award winning projects.
Building on History
Architectural Salvation p.c.