EOP + HOK Selected to Redesign Kentucky International Convention Center

LEXINGTON, Ky., Nov. 20, 2014 — EOP Architects in collaboration with HOK's Chicago Practice has been selected for the redesign of the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC) in downtown Louisville. EOP+HOK will consult with architect Don Grinberg of Boston, one of the country's leading consultants on convention facilities design.

"We are thrilled to 'kick-start' KICC," quipped Rick Ekhoff, EOP's design principal. "We're delighted to work with HOK, the Finance Cabinet, the Kentucky Fair Board and the entire team on this monumental project for Louisville and for the Commonwealth of Kentucky."

The convention center spans Third Street between Jefferson and Market streets and officials view its renovation as critical if Louisville intends to retain and grow its share of the lucrative trade show and convention business.

Read the Courier Journal article here.
Read the Business First article here.

EOP Designs The Apiary

LEXINGTON, Ky., July 28, 2014 — EOP Architects has designed The Apiary, a new 15,000-square-foot catering and event space soon to open in Lexington’s fashionable Jefferson Street entertainment district.

"This project is another example of our commitment to downtown Lexington, where we have been located for over 30 years," remarked principal Brent Bruner, AIA, lead designer for The Apiary. "We enjoy projects of all sizes so The Apiary is a wonderful complement to our other downtown projects like Rupp Arena, the Lexington Convention Center, Shorty's, Main + Rose and the Old Fayette County Courthouse."

EOP is working with Matthew Carter Interiors and Jon Carloftis to create a one-of-a-kind experience at The Apiary. The largest venue is the 2,000-square-foot Orangery, which has a 10-foot by 30-foot skylight and 18-foot-tall windows designed to match antique shutters. There is also the 1,000-square-foot Winter Room, an intimate tasting room beside the kitchen, and a French limestone terrace that can accommodate large tents.

EOP used salvage materials throughout the design. Reclaimed brick, wood flooring and beams came from old tobacco warehouses. Stone was salvaged from a farm that belongs to the owners' uncle. Pavers were once part of a barn at Hamburg Place horse farm. Massive pine doors came from Argentina, and two antique stone fountains in the courtyard are from Europe.

The brick and stone courtyard walls are accented with custom wrought iron created by artists Matthew and Karine Maynard of Maynard Studios in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.

"They wanted it to have a substantial feel that at the same time is modern and fits into an urban setting," continues Bruner. "The level of craftsmanship they wanted is not what you see a lot these days."

Since the kitchen opened, the owner has given rent-free office space to Seedleaf, a Lexington nonprofit. Seedleaf works to increase the supply of affordable, nutritious and sustainably produced local food for people at risk of hunger in Central Kentucky. It sponsors community gardens, restaurant composting programs and classes that teach cooking and food-preservation skills.

To read Tom Eblen's article in the Herald-Leader, click here. 

For more information on The Apiary, click here. 

EOP Designs New Senior Citizen Center

LEXINGTON, Ky., June 1, 2014 — Nutrition, exercise and socialization. These three basic needs enrich the quality of life for the elder population, which is one of the fastest growing demographics groups in the U.S. When one realizes the impact of a senior center and how it plays a pivotal role in enriching lives, the potentials are humbling.

EOP Architects, with specialized consulting services by Catlin+Petrovick, is designing Lexington’s New Senior Citizen Center so that elders have the tools and opportunities to remain independent, healthy and involved. The facility, expected to open during the winter of 2015, will be located near the intersection of New Circle and Richmond roads in Idle Hour Park.

At 33,000 square feet, the new facility is almost twice as large as the current, outdated one. Seniors will enjoy planned programs including art activities, educational classes, recreational (dance and exercise) classes, a game area, cafes and library.

Click here for more information on this project. 

Lexington Herald-Leader article.

Mayor Gray Unveils Rupp Arena Re-Invention

LEXINGTON, Ky., February 10, 2014 — Mayor Jim Gray unveiled designs today for a $310 million renovation and redesign of Rupp Arena that includes a transparent facade and moving and expanding the convention center to the west of Lexington’s most well-known landmark.

The designs by NBBJ and EOP Architects include removing the current convention center and moving it to the west of Rupp Arena, allowing for expanding and “freeing” the storied home of University of Kentucky’s men’s basketball program. 

The exterior of Rupp will include glass or transparent outer walls that allow for more interaction between the street and what’s going on inside, architects have said. The second story will have areas where people can see inside — particularly at the corners of the building. 

To view the video, click here. 

For more information about the project, click here. 

To view media coverage, click here. 

EOP Wins Design Award from AIA Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky., September 20, 2013 — The AIA Kentucky announced winners of its design awards for 2013 at the annual Excellence in Architectural Design ceremony in Louisville. For the sixth consecutive year, EOP Architects took home an award.

This year's award recognizes EOP's design for the former Lexington Mall, dramatically changing it into the Richmond Road Campus of Southland Christian Church. 

Jury comments included, "Wow — a complete transformation of an unused eyesore."

Click here to read the Herald-Leader article.

For more information and to view more images of Southland Christian Church, click here. 

NBBJ + EOP Named Architect of Rupp Arena and Lexington Convention Center Renovations

July 10, 2013, LEXINGTON, KY – Today, Mayor of Lexington Jim Gray announced award-winning architecture firm NBBJ, in collaboration with Lexington-based EOP Architects, will design the new Rupp Arena and Lexington Convention Center projects.

Named after legendary University of Kentucky Men’s basketball coach Adolf Rupp, Rupp Arena has been home to University of Kentucky Wildcats Basketball for 40 years and is considered to be hallowed ground in collegiate basketball. The revamped Rupp Arena will feature expanded concourse spaces; a completely revitalized bowl with chair-back seats throughout; a new hospitality level with premium suite seating; a new center hung-scoreboard; and a host of other amenities that will preserve the authenticity of the original arena while providing a fresh experience for fans and team personnel.

“The reimagining of Rupp Arena and the Lexington Convention Center must be approached as one project,” said NBBJ Partner Robert Mankin. “Together they will become the commercial, sports, and entertainment destination that transforms Lexington. We are honored to work with the City of Lexington on this defining project.”

The overall seat count of 23,500 will remain after the renovation. In the next four months, the City of Lexington and the University of Kentucky will work with NBBJ + EOP to finalize the design concept, with groundbreaking scheduled for the fall of 2014. Once the project is underway, a phased construction schedule will allow the Wildcats to play basketball at Rupp during renovations.

Meantime, the renovation and expansion of Lexington Center will add approximately 100,000 square feet to the facility by doubling space for exhibitions, while adding a new ballroom and meeting room spaces. The design will eliminate existing inefficiencies that make it difficult for Rupp Arena and the Lexington Center to hold separate events at the same time. In both projects, the design seeks to create a more dynamic and transparent connection between the events taking place inside and the City of Lexington.

Read Herald-Leader article here. 

Watch Mayor Gray's announcement here.

For more information on NBBJ, click here. 

EOP Project Featured on Cover of Designer

LEXINGTON, Ky., June 14, 2013 — EOP Architects' renovation of Southland Christian Church is on the cover of Worship Facilities Designer magazine's Summer issue. EOP's Design Principal Rick Ekhoff discusses his philosophies on how design excellence applies to architecture.

Click here to read the article.

EOP's Team JIM Takes the Golden T-Square at Design Slam 2013

LEXINGTON, Ky., June 1, 2013 — Five teams from local architecture firms competed in the AIA East Kentucky Design Slam 2013 today, raising $7000 for Habitat for Humanity. Team JIM, composed of Josh Duddey, Ian McHone and Magda Wala — all of EOP Architects — took first place and the prize known as the Golden T-Square.

The slam, held at West Sixth Brewing Co., challenged the five teams to come up with a downtown trailhead at 137 West Main Street for the bike-and-walking path known as the Legacy Trail.

Each team had one hour to come up with a design — a process that might normally take six months. 

AIA East Kentucky President Daniel Ware commented, "None of the designs will get the OK. It's just for fun."

Click here to read the story in the Herald-Leader.  

To view pictures of the event, click here. 

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/05/30/2659372/design-competition-to-focus-on.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/06/01/2662201/architects-compete-raise-money.html#storylink=cpy

EOP Competing in AIA East Kentucky DESIGN SLAM!

Where can you go to support Habitat for Humanity, have a local micro brew, and watch Lexington architects battle it out? Design Slam!

Sponsored by the AIA East Kentucky Chapter + Fayette Alliance, Design Slam will pit five teams from local architecture firms against each other as they design a building for downtown Lexington...in one hour.

Each team is connected to a projector and projection screen which will display the progress of their work from start to finish. The audience will vote for their favorites, while Griffen Van Meter of Kentucky for Kentucky will MC.

Admission if free but there is a $5 requested donation. All proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity. Starting at 6:00pm, the event will be held on Saturday, June 1st at West Sixth Brewery in Lexington. For more information, contact info@aia-ekc.org.

EOP Featured in AEC Cafe

AEC Cafe features the EOP-designed Southland Christian Church.

Click here to read the article. 

EOP Featured in ArchDaily

The EOP-designed Southland Christian Church is featured in ArchDaily, a premier forum showcasing the world's best architecture with 45 million pageviews a month.

Click here to read the article. 

AIA Kentucky Honors EOP with Citation Award

 

At its November regional conference, the AIA Kentucky presented the 2012 Honor Awards for Excellence in Architectural Design.  EOP was awarded a Citation for Excellence in Architectural Design for Urban Active at Polaris in Columbus, Ohio. 

“The Jury was very impressed with the interior spatial development, which suggested an exciting and enriching community environment.  The spatial and volumetric development inside enhances this sense of community, perhaps doing what trainers aspire to:  make exercise interesting.  It seems like a great place to see and be seen – would make me want to work out more.”

Click here to read more about the AIA Kentucky Honor Awards. 

For more information on EOP’s design for Urban Active at Polaris, click here.



EOP's Upcycling Initiative Featured in Business Lexington

LEXINGTON, Ky., November 8, 2012 — EOP Architects, an award-winning architecture and interior design firm based in Lexington, is transforming its old drawings and scrap paper into sketch pads for students in the Fayette County Public Schools. With production help from Lynn Imaging, EOP has produced 150 sketch pads in this ongoing initiative.

“Each sketch pad has been created using only materials we had on hand,” states Paul Ochenkoski, AIA, an EOP principal. “We always recycle our paper, but we knew there had to be another use for it. We always look for ways to make a positive impact in the community and that’s when we hit on upcycling the paper into student sketch pads.”

Each pad has approximately 100 sheets of paper that is blank on one side. But on the other side, there are pieces of architectural drawings, color renderings, hand sketches, floor plans and even old code manuals.

“This innovative gesture from EOP will go a long way towards helping our Graphic Design and Drafting students understand the real-world applications to what they are learning in class,” remarks Tresine T. Logsdon, Energy & Sustainability Curriculum Coordinator for Fayette County Public Schools.  “Teachers will be delighted to incorporate these sketch pads into their classroom instruction and familiarize their students with authentic work of architecture and similar career pathways.”

Click here to read the feature in Business Lexington.

EOP to Design New Clinic for HealthFirst

After searching all over Lexington for months for a building to renovate, HealthFirst Bluegrass announced Wednesday the planned demolition of a 29,000-square-foot building at 496 Southland Drive and an 11,000-square-foot adjacent building. An $11.7 million federal grant initially pegged for renovation will be used for constructing a new clinic.

Rick Ekhoff, AIA, LEED AP, will lead the design of the new clinic.  "As a medical facility, especially one that will serve a good number of children, the building will have to feel inviting, not threatening."

Read the Herald-Leader article here.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/10/24/2383571/renovation-is-out-construction.html#storylink=cpy

EOP Architects to Participate in International PARK(ing) Day Friday, Sept 21

LEXINGTON, Ky., September 20, 2012—EOP Architects is transforming a downtown Lexington curbside parking space into a miniature park on Friday, September 21st from 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in recognition of international PARK(ing) Day. The movement, which began in 2005, challenges people to rethink the use of urban space since the vast majority is dedicated to the private vehicle, while only a fraction of that land is allocated to open space for people. This will be the first year Lexington has participated , joining nearly 200 cities around the world.

In urban centers, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution. A metered parking spot is an inexpensive short-term lease for a plot of precious urban real estate. There is a range of possibilities for creativity in a space usually dedicated to the storage of a private vehicle.

There will be more than a dozen mini-parks around downtown Lexington on Friday. Stop by EOP’s park on West Short Street across from Shakespeare & Co. and find out how we re-envision urban space.

For more information on PARK(ing) Day, visit www.parkingday.org.

EOP Breathes New Life Into Cigar Warehouse

Tops In Lex magazine features EOP Principal Brent Bruner's adaptive reuse of a vacant 1940s cigar manufacturing company warehouse into a stunning living space. Working with Matthew Carter Interiors, Bruner created "a space that feels open and airy, in spite of essentially being a cinder block box in the heart of Downtown. A wonderful entertaining space, this gorgeous home seamlessly blends industrial chic with modern flair."

Read the entire article from Tops In Lex by clicking here.

For more information about the project, click here.

EOP's CentrePointe Design Approved

LEXINGTON, KY - March 28, 2012.  At a special meeting of the Courthouse Area Design Review Board today, the mixed-use development CentrePointe was unanimously approved. This was the last hurdle in the sometimes controversial project.

"We would've gone nowhere if we hadn't passed today. So this was the last big hurdle in terms of clearing the government requirements. So huge day," said EOP's Rick Ekhoff.

Next for the project is coming up with the finance package. Currently Jeff Ruby's, Saul Good, Urban Active and J.W. Marriott have committed to the block, with several banks expressing interest as well.

Click on the links below to read more about the project from various media outlets.

WKYT-TV
WTVQ-TV
Herald-Leader's Beverly Fortune
Herald-Leader's Tom Eblen

Business Lexington Features CentrePointe

In the March 16th edition of Business Lexington, Celeste Lewis writes an overview of the CentrePointe project in downtown Lexington, with a spotlight on the collaborative efforts of four local architecture firms.

Click here to read the article. 

For more information on the project, click here.

Tom Eblen Says CentrePointe "Looks Great"

In his blog for the Lexington Herald-Leader, Tom Eblen writes, "The designs look terrific, thanks to a long, difficult but ultimately very productive process of architectural refinement and public input."

EOP held a Public Forum for CentrePointe on March 1st at ArtsPlace.

Click here to read Tom's blog.

Click here for more information on CentrePointe.

WTVQ-TV Airs Segment on New Plans for CentrePointe

WTVQ-TV's Jacqueline Sprague was at the March 1st Public Forum for CentrePointe and spoke with quite a few of those in attendance.

"I think it's great. I think it incorporates a lot of different aspects.  It's satisfying a lot of different interested parties and I think it does a nice job of pulling those things together," said one member of the crowd of 200.

To watch the segment, click here.

To learn more about CentrePointe, click here.