Office and Building Facade Renovation – Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry

Founded in 1909, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry (WAF) has grown into a global supplier of high-quality castings and consumer products. By 2023, however, their office spaces no longer reflected their reputation or needs. WAF partnered with Somerville Architects & Engineers and A.C.E. Building Service to create a modern, functional environment that balanced their industrial identity with state-of-the-art office amenities. The project included demolition, reconstruction, and repurposing of office and storage areas, resulting in 14,000 sq. ft. of modern office space. To minimize disruption, construction was executed in two phases, allowing employees to remain working in their existing environments before being relocated to the new office space. Challenges included maintaining HVAC for occupied areas, reframing roof sections for new infrastructure, and addressing uneven floor elevations. A critical hurdle was keeping WAF’s X-ray testing lab operational. The project team created a protective “ship in a bottle” enclosure to preserve a clean and consistent climate during renovation. The finished facility includes ADA-compliant entrances, an elevator, upgraded restrooms, enhanced acoustics, and a unified façade blending early 1900s cream city brick with later additions. Completed in early 2025, the project logged over 19,600 labor-hours, with seven ABC members contributing nearly half the contracted work.