(CS2.5) Birmingham’s Prince Hall Grand Lodge: A Past in Civil Rights and a Future in Sustainability

Located within, and contributing to, the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, the Birmingham Prince Hall Grand Lodge building is nationally significant for its role in African American Masonic history, for its architecture and architect, and for its role in the Civil Rights Movement. The Lodge, completed in 1924, was designed by Robert R. Taylor, the first African American graduate of MIT, first African American accredited architect in the United States, and founder of the first architecture school for African Americans at Tuskegee University. The multi-use structure stands 7-stories over a basement, one of the earliest of its height in the city, and included ground level retail, a two-story assembly space, Masonic meeting rooms, offices of the civil rights organizations, and professional offices.

The Masons occupied space within the building until 2011, leaving the building as a time capsule with evidence of past occupants such as hand painted door signage and stickers associated with the Alabama State Coordination Association for Registration and Voting. The Masons have partnered with a developer experienced in preserving and adapting historic properties to re-occupy their space, and re-invigorate the building and district with leasable retail, office space, and a state-of-the-art event space.

With such historically valuable fabric remaining, the rehabilitation project requires attention to conservation and creative context informed adaptation to retain the materials of the past and insert future focused systems and uses.

Sustainability goals established at the outset of the project include reducing energy consumption, water consumption, embodied carbon, and greenhouse gas emissions, while improving indoor environmental quality, occupant health, and resource efficiency. As an all-electric building in a fossil fuel focused energy market, this historic structure will be truly forward thinking. The target for mechanical system performance was set to be 30% less than ASHRAE 90.1/2019. Additionally, the project is designed to support targets for LEED Gold Certification and WELL Building Certification.

Originally heated with a boiler and radiators and ventilated with operable windows and transoms, inserting new systems through the centenarian building is challenging. Complexities such as the steel structural system, position of the grand assembly space on lower floors, and limitations to locating large equipment on the roof, require creative design strategies that respect and retain the original fabric of the building. WUFI analysis was performed to verify the performance of the wall assembly and avoid the introduction of deleterious dew points to the three wythe brick exterior walls. Hazardous materials are prevalent and must be appropriately addressed with care to avoid excessive harm to historic materials.

This presentation will introduce the audience to the rich history of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge building and illustrate the complexities of achieving progressive sustainability goals.