Team work on JB Guard building garners award from Army Secretary

The Missouri National Guard's Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center at historic Jefferson Barracks

By Bill Phelan
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A cultural resource team from the Missouri Army National Guard is receiving national recognition for its work on the Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center at Jefferson Barracks.

The team is the recipient of the U.S. Secretary of the Army's 2010 Cultural Resources Management Award for a small installation. The award is recognition of the numerous challenges faced by the team during planning and construction of the reserve center, which is located in a national historic district on the 135-acre military post in south St. Louis County.

Those challenges included making sure that the 140,000 square-foot center would blend in with other, smaller structures on the base, most of which were built in the 1890s.

"Architecturally we had to meet guidelines under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Missouri Historic Preservation Office so we hired a historic architect who brought in elements of the existing buildings," explained team member Regina Meyer, a cultural resources manager and archaeologist. "The red brick and mortar mimics what you see in the other historic buildings and the foundation is concrete, but is made to look like limestone. The roof is covered with architectural shingles to mimic the slate on other buildings. It's those details that make the difference."

The reserve center project also had to meet certain environmental criteria.

"We recycled the metal, bricks and concrete from the buildings we had to demolish," said Meyer. "The tile floors and carpeting are made from partially recycled material. The toilets are water-efficient, the lighting is energy-efficient, and the paint we used is environmentally friendly. We also made sure we were getting our building materials from as close to the site as possible to reduce the distance for delivery."

When construction crews began to uncover historical artifacts, those items had to be retrieved and cataloged under the agreement with state and federal preservation officials.

"We found lots of building materials - nails and bricks," said Meyer. "We found horseshoes, military buttons, bottles, plates, and other items related to day to day life at Jefferson Barracks. Some of those items will be put on display at the reserve center."

Other members of the cultural resources team included Keith Braun, deputy environmental program manager; Andy Distler, facilities project manager; Rebecca Prater and Judith Deel of the state historic preservation office; Engine House No. 1 Design and Development of St. Louis; Ross & Baruzzini Architects of Webster Groves; Interior designer Brenda Kochmann of Hanson Professional Services; Timothy Schulte of the Guard's conservation office; Lt. Col. Brent Beckley of the Guard's facilities management office; and Lt. Col. Christopher Mickan, administrative officer for the 70th Troop Command and the reserve center building manager.

"What the team accomplished is pretty impressive when you consider what went into the design of this building and the fact that much of the interior layout was dictated by Troop Command staff," said Mickan. "And still they were able to mirror the design features of the older buildings and meet our demands. It's a perfect fit."

The Joint Armed Forces Reserve Center opened in November and serves as headquarters of the 70th Troop Command, the largest brigade in the Missouri Army National Guard. The center also houses the 10th Psychological Operations Battalion and the 3rd Training Support Battalion, 383rd Regiment, 166th Aviation Brigade of the U.S. Army Reserve.

The building is earthquake proof; has certain anti-terrorism features and cost $26.1 million.

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