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Renovating any building can be a challenge, but when a building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the bar is raised significantly.
Diana Melichar, founder and CEO of Melichar Architects in Lake Forest, meets these challenges with passion and skill, starting with her firm’s design for the major renovation of the Ragdale Barnhouse As can be seen, the Barn was Lake Forest’s historic artists’ retreat.
Melichar was actively involved in Ragdale’s renovation task force committee a decade ago when the 120-year-old Ragdale House underwent a major $3.2 million restoration.
Preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse are her passions—she served for five years as a commissioner on the Highland Park Conservation Commission and converted a Lake Michigan pumping station into a two-family home.
“This modern approach to architecture not only benefits the community, but is also ‘green’ by not demolishing and rebuilding,” she said.
Each year, the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce presents the Community Leadership Award to a local business that exemplifies a commitment to community involvement and involvement. These businesses are recognized as good friends and valuable resources to the Chamber and the community at large. The 2024 award was presented to Melichar Architects on January 25.
Each year, the Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Chamber of Commerce presents the Community Leadership Award to a local business that exemplifies a commitment to community involvement and involvement. The 2024 award was presented to Lake Forest-based Melichar Architects on January 25. Founder and CEO Diana Melichar received the award.
Courtesy of Melichar Architects
When the Ragdale Foundation, which operates an artists’ community, wanted to renovate the barn, it hired Melichar Architects because of the firm’s knowledge and sensitivity of the site and experience submitting projects to the Historical Commission for approval. Construction began in December and will be completed by the end of 2024.
“Understanding a building’s history is critical to the success of a conservation or restoration project,” Melichar said. “When we work with historic buildings, our goal is to respect the original architecture and retain the features that make the building unique, while bringing the functionality of rooms and spaces up to today’s standards.”
Such renovations are part of Melichar Architects’ extensive and diverse portfolio of residential and commercial projects for clients in the Chicago area, the greater Midwest and several other states.
“Many construction companies specialize in one or two areas,” she said. “Our specialty is we can do construction in any style or method.”
Ragdale was designed in 1897 by renowned Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw as a summer retreat for his creative family. The Shaw family included two architects, two poets, a sculptor, a painter, a weaver and a cartoonist, and they often welcomed fellow artists such as Carl Sandburg and Vachel Lindsay to join them .
Nearly 150 residencies and numerous scholarships are offered each year to creative professionals of all types, making Ragdale one of the largest interdisciplinary artist communities in the United States.
One of the buildings on its vast campus is the Barnhouse, built in 1897 at the same time as the iconic Ragdale House. The Barn House is adjacent to an 1839 brick farmhouse (the oldest farmhouse in Lake County), and the two buildings are integrated into one. The original farmhouse and barn extension are listed on the National Register.
Originally built as a working barn for Shaw’s farm, it was inherited by his daughter Theodora in 1937 when the property was subdivided among his three children. Theodora’s husband, architect John Lord King, converted the barn into their home. The property was sold and further improvements were made in the early 1950s.
The Ragdale Foundation purchased the building in 1980 to use it as offices, artist rooms and central dining facilities. The foundation underwent extensive renovations in 2004, demolishing a concrete block garage and replacing it with Chandler Studio, the first of four currently accessible artist studios on campus. The conference room and kitchen were also renovated at that time.
Ragdale’s barn house as it appears today.
Now the barn needs exterior restoration and interior renovation.
“The Ragdale complex contains a great deal of architectural history, and the Barn House plays an important role in the property,” Melichar said. “We are honored to be a part of this next journey as the Foundation continues its mission of providing a destination for artists’ important works.”
Project manager Roland Kulla said the new project would provide an artist with an ensuite bathroom, double the size of the kitchen and enlarge the dining room.
“The outline of the original barn posts will be restored,” he said. “In addition, the barn’s windows will be fully restored, a new roof added, and air conditioning installed on the second floor.”
The Ragdale Foundation recently completed a $6.5 million campaign to raise funds for the Barnhouse and several other buildings. The foundation received a $500,000 donation to fund the kitchen and dining portion of the Barnhouse project.
The original 1938 barn (left) and the 1839 brick farmhouse (right).
Melichar, a Lake Forest native, founded his company in 1993. About half of architecture school graduates are women, and about a quarter of registered architects are women, but only about 17% are heads of firms.
Melichar is a registered architect and interior designer and is certified as an Aging in Home Specialist by the National Association of Home Builders. She leads a team of five architects and building designers.
Rendering of restaurant extension to barn designed by Melichar Architects.
Melichar is active in the community and an advocate for climate action and green energy. Her work has won numerous awards, including new construction, conservation, restoration and adaptive reuse awards.
“We are sensitive to the environment and considerate when choosing materials and products for our buildings,” she said. “We’re looking for long-term solutions, not one-off buildings.”
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