The Butterfield Center is a
New Brutalist structure in
downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
Designed by
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
architecture professor
David Lee Smithnd Donald E. Stevens, the building promotes the structural and systems materials (concrete, ductwork, etc.) themselves by leaving them exposed.
[''Cincinnati Enquirer'', June 25, 2006, "A New Home"]
The Butterfield Recreation Center (also known as the Butterfield Nutrition Center, also known as the Butterfield Senior Center) was closed in 2004 as a result of push to cut $4.2 million from the budgets of several city departments
In 2005, design firm
Libby Perszyk Kathman (LPK) purchased the Butterfield Center along with the
Marcus Fechheimer House, with the vision to conjoin the buildings and create a new headquarters and meeting space.
The Fechheimer House, which is also known locally as the Cuvier Press Club, also served as a part of the senior citizens' center from 1977 until 2004.
[''Cincinnati Enquirer'', January 28, 2005, "Design firm proposes to buy ex-senior center"] LPK restored the Fechheimer mansion and commissioned Cincinnati firm FRCH Design Worldwide to plan the design for the connection of the two buildings.
References
Buildings and structures in Cincinnati
{{Cincinnati-stub