ADAPTATION AS A MEANS OF PRESERVATION: A NEW LIFE FOR THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL.

Abstract

When the Franklin School was built in 1869 in the heart of Franklin Square, a vibrant area of Washington, D.C., the school was the gold standard for D.C. public schools. However, despite a few renovations over the years, the building has deteriorated. Currently the Franklin school is empty, but despite its emptiness, it remains a lasting memory of Franklin Square’s vibrant past. It is for this reason that the school needs to be adaptively reused. By redeveloping the Franklin School into a new and accessible public charter school the building can become an active environment once again, while connecting to its past history. However, there are many challenges that come with adaptively reusing a historic building. This thesis will explore those challenges while developing a proposition for the best way to adaptively reuse the Franklin School.