What does it take to be a Madison Trust winner?
It doesn't take a fancy landmark like a Frank Lloyd Wright home or the restoration of a crumbling old building to become an award winner for the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.
Sometimes, it's as simple as adding a new garage.
Among the Madison Trust winners this year is Andy Fielding, who won a Compatible New Construction Award for the stylish garages he designed and added to two neighboring properties he and his wife, Leila Harris, own on Few Street on the near east side. The neighboring garages complement the older homes next to them.
"When they make a greater effort than just putting up something, we like to reward that," said Erica Fox Gehrig of the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.
Another Compatible New Construction winner is at the Jacobs II House, a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in Middleton. Owners John and Elizabeth Moore built a studio and carport using one wall of an existing outside structure on the property.
The University of Wisconsin will get a Sensitive New Addition award for its overhaul of the Mechanical Engineering Building. The 1930 Italian Renaissance-style building at 1513 University Ave. got a $50.5 million renovation and was dedicated this fall.
Samba Brazilian Grill on Gilman Street, just off of State Street, will get an Adaptive Re-use award for the way owner Jongjean Lee and architect Melissa Destree worked with pre-existing elements of the interior, such as the stage, to create a new use for the historic Woman's Building.
"We really have Mrs. Lee to thank for that," Fox Gehrig said. "It was a risk."
The Trust will also give an award for Preservation Advocacy to Kitty Rankin, who has been the city's preservation planner for 29 years.
"You can ask her about a property by address and she'd know where you were talking about," Gehrig said. "She's that tied in to the city."
