About You and Your Team

• What got you started in this field?

  • Mark - I was fortunate to be part of the first class of RPI Architecture students to study in Rome in the Fall of 1981. That experience reinforced my belief in the importance of preserving our historic buildings and reusing them for new purposes when necessary. Upon my return, I worked for an architect in Schenectady that primarily focused on renovating existing buildings, and I designed my final thesis project around the adaptive reuse of the former Silliman Memorial Church in my hometown of Cohoes. After graduation, I found other firms that likewise focused on the restoration and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Having worked with Steve Reilly for much of my career, we and our two partners founded LTRW in 2015 to continue that work. Over the past 40 years, I have had the privilege of helping to preserve four state capitols, structures at Ellis Island and Valley Forge, and many other structures which are part of our architectural heritage. I am deeply thankful to now have the opportunity to assist the Foundation with the restoration of Paine Castle.

  • Stephen - I grew up with a strong interest in both architecture and history, and have always had a sense of responsibility for restoring, preserving and adapting the best examples of the built world for future generations to learn from and appreciate.  I developed a strong interest in the material science and forensics of preservation architecture in college.  I found the best way to understand how to repair and preserve historic construction assemblies is to study the circumstances surrounding their development and reasons for deterioration in the first place; how they fail, and thus how they can be resurrected.  Mark Thaler and I have known each other since 1992, and we have been fortunate to practice architecture together since then on some of the most interesting and exciting historic buildings in the country.  Paine Castle is one of them, a spectacular and elegant example of the Gilded Age in Troy, one of the most important industrial centers in the world.

• What do you want visitors to know about you and your team?

  • Each of our projects is unique from the next, and we at Lacey Thaler Reilly Wilson are fully invested in developing sound preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse solutions for them all. Mark Thaler and I have strong familial ties to Troy and the Capital Region and approach our work here with a sense of pride, keenly aware of the important legacy the projects we work on perpetuate.

Your Part in the Preservation of Paine Castle

• What are you most proud of about your contributions for Paine Castle?

  • We are feel fortunate to be developing a long-range, prioritized restoration and renovation approach with the dedicated members of the Paine Castle team.

• What is the biggest challenge of this project?

  • Developing a careful, disciplined approach to adapt the building for future uses, respecting the hierarchy of spaces throughout the building; some rooms and groups thereof are better suited for change and adaptation for modern use, while the grandeur and details of other spaces must be preserved and restored.

• Who from your team contributed?

  • Our work on the project is ongoing, and in the past eight months members of LTRW who have worked on the project thus far include Sophia Lane, Chuck Volans, Mark Thaler and Steve Reilly.

• What could be the next step for your team if we secured funding?

  • We anticipate continuing to participate in the implementation of sequenced projects, restoring and adapting interior spaces for use over the next 100 years.

Contact Information

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Mark Thaler, AIA, NCARB

As a nationally recognized expert in Historic Preservation, Mark has been responsible for the renovation and restoration of some of our nation’s most significant landmarks, including buildings at Ellis Island, Valley Forge, the Washington State Capitol, and numerous colleges and universities across the country. His collaborative working style enables holistic solutions that incorporate the best of what our past has to offer.

mthaler@ltrw-arch.com

Stephen F. Reilly, AIA, LEED AP, BD+C

Steve is a AIA member and LEED Accredited Professional with more than 25 years’ experience working on some of the most important historic structures in the United States. He has a strong materials conservation and technical background, and is particularly experienced with projects involving preservation, restoration, adaptive reuse and contextual additions.

sreilly@ltrw-arch.com