December 7, 2020
Carl Dress still feels a rush of excitement whenever he passes a historic building on his walks through Philadelphia.
“There’s a real joy in taking a building that’s derelict, with broken glass and frayed brick, rejuvenating it and recapturing its history,” Dress said. “You’re taking something that’s been forgotten and turning it into something useful and making it a jewel of the city once again.”
With a catalog of award-winning restoration projects under his belt, Dress is one of the city’s most trusted voices on historic preservation and serves as the co-chair of AIA Philadelphia’s Historic Preservation Committee. Dress made the choice this summer to bid farewell to Heritage Design Collaborative, a firm he co-founded, to lead the Philadelphia office of Klein & Hoffman, a Chicago-based structural engineering and architectural firm.
In his new position, Dress will take the reins on Klein & Hoffman’s restoration of venerable Philadelphia structures like the Overbrook Presbyterian Church, built in 1889, and the Church of the Holy Trinity, which has stood at the northwest corner of Rittenhouse Square since before the Civil War. Bisnow sat down with Dress to talk through the projects he’s proudest of from his career and what he loves about breathing new life into Philadelphia’s historic landmarks. Read more here at: BISNOW.COM