Location: Wheeling, West Virginia
Year: 1997

Bank One engaged Bass Studio Architects in an emergency situation. The large marble panels on the principal facade of the branch were discovered to be in danger of falling into the public way.

There was an existing budget for the branch for minor repairs only. BSA was tasked with rebuilding the entire facade on a maintenance budget.

Challenges included:

• designing around two existing bulky exterior mechanical soffits in a figural position directly over and flanking the entry.

• providing a design that brought the facility back into the historic, pedestrian scale of the downtown Wheeling street without being “pattern book” historic.

• resolving the asymmetry of the bad 1960’s design of the facade.

• accomplish all with very little budget.

The project was warmly received by the Downtown Wheeling business and civic communities.