I am no expert in historical restoration, nor do I have any aspirations to be, but sometimes you just do what the situation calls for: in this case, translating century-old facade details for our modern means of production.

The Cathedral Building sits at the meeting point of two major streets and fronts on the newly renovated Latham Square. The 13-story historical landmark had fallen into disrepair at street level, and wood windows, slab marble, artisan stucco, and steel ornament were deployed to approximate the building's original, Gothic ambitions.

New elements had to conceal a seismic retrofit while also dovetailing with historical details. If we did our job right, then no one will ever know what we did exactly or why it took so long or cost so much. The final detail involved layering sheets of laser cut, half-inch steel: a kind of Gothic tracery for the 21st century.