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Upstart Mind Over Media renovating inventor Westinghouse's first factory in Strip Changing George's place Wednesday, January 31, 2001 By Joyce Gannon, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
George Westinghouse probably couldn't conceive of his original air brake factory in the Strip District becoming an ultra-casual office where workers sip coffee in a light-filled atrium and shoot baskets on an indoor court. But that's just what the new owners have in mind for the sprawling brick structure that occupies a Liberty Avenue block.
"We want it to be playful and vibrant," said Gerard Damiani, the architect charged with redesigning the interior of the 40,000-square-foot building for Mind Over Media, a fast-growing Downtown firm that produces videos, CD-ROMs and Internet sites.
MOM, in partnership with National Development Co. of Pennsylvania, paid $1.475 million for the historic facility and will spend more than $1 million to renovate the interior and exterior for its 56 employees.
Though just a year ago it expanded from its longtime Market Street headquarters to bigger offices on First Avenue, MOM President Guido D'Elia late last year realized his company, with annual revenues of about $6 million, would soon need even more room.
D'Elia heard there might be space in the old Westinghouse facility, which stretches between 24th and 25th streets along Liberty Avenue. Former owner RedZone Robotics was in the midst of relocating to The Waterfront in Homestead and was ready to sell.
To help finance the extensive rehabilitation for the 130-year old plant, the MOM-NDC partnership has attracted funds from several sources, including a $580,000 loan from the Strategic Investment Fund for a new roof and to strip old white paint from the original red brick exterior.
Investment Fund President Robert Stephenson called the renovation "a wonderful opportunity to bring back a bit of history where George Westinghouse started his career ... and to bring it back to a very prominent appearance."
Though he's gained a reputation in Pittsburgh high-tech circles for his funky workspace designs, Damiani said his plans for the old Westinghouse building would reflect some of its Old Economy legacy.
"We want it to be architecturally sympathetic to the old building ... with new commerce inside it."
That means keeping the original exposed brick interior walls, replacing glass block windows with about 150 historically accurate windows and designing a new elevator shaft that will incorporate original metal fire safes where Westinghouse, according to legend, stored his paperwork every night when he closed the factory.
The exterior redesign is being handled by architect Joel Kranich.
To retrofit the building for its New Economy occupants, Damiani has proposed moving the main entrance to 25th Street to avoid the busy Liberty Avenue traffic.
The lobby entrance will include a two-story atrium that features the original arched brick roof. Employees, clients and guests can meet at a coffee bar that will be located right off the lobby.
Long-range possibilities, D'Elia said, include a mail service and laundry service near the lobby for MOM's workers.
"Our employees work very long, hard hours. Deadlines and projects drive us so we want convenience. If they could drop off their laundry and pick it up a few days later, they could save their weekends and spare time."
The 25th Street side of the building also will include a car entrance -- the company plans to provide interior parking for 25 to 30 vehicles.
One of D'Elia's other long-term ideas is to provide a car wash and auto detailing service, amenities that could help employees better utilize their leisure time away from the office.
Throughout the interior, Damiani has proposed a new plywood floor that will be sanded and treated like hardwood.
The floor plan is very open with few private offices. The second-floor work spaces will sit along the many windows that overlook Liberty Avenue. MOM's production and editing studios will be on the first level.
MOM is reserving a huge amount of space along the 24th Street side of the building for recreation and future expansion.
While D'Elia is considering a range of suggestions from a basketball court to a climbing wall, the plans aren't finalized.
But the overall concept, said Damiani, is to create "a 24-hour work space that is exciting so it attracts talent and workers won't get tired of being there."
According to NDC President Gregory Hand, Westinghouse was only 23 in1870 when he obtained $6.5 million from the Pitcairn family to build his first factory.
Westinghouse Air Brake occupied it until 1881, when the company moved across the river to the City of Allegheny, now the North Side, and Westinghouse Machine Co. moved in.
Westinghouse Machine left the Strip in 1895 for East Pittsburgh. Later occupants of the air brake factory included Pittsburg Screw and Bolt Co., Standard Supply & Equipment Co., Vulcan Motor Trucks, Otto Milk Co. and the Civic Light Opera, which used it to build theater sets.
Redzone bought it in 1990 for $450,000 and was ready to relocate after 10 years because it didn't want to invest in the much-needed renovation, said RedZone President J. Todd Simonds. "We're still a boot-strapping organization and want to invest in our technology and marketing."
For MOM, however, beautifying the building inside and out is a top priority.
D'Elia envisions the finished product resembling the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, another former Strip industrial space on Smallman Street.
He believes the Strip is slowly transforming from a center of heavy industry to a community of New Economy companies that will complement its already thriving shops, restaurants and night clubs.
With many of MOM's employees in their 20s and 30s, the Strip location "plays to our population. There's good energy down here and it's a part of the city that's almost tailored to this type of business."
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