To help grow the client’s expanding business, the renovation of three individual warehouses to form a shared complex allowed the client’s business to expand and new sectors to collaborate and grow.

While one of the warehouses was already used by the client for brewing production, the other two were previously a car detailer and a mechanic and required a change-of-use in order to create the campus. The vehicle circulation and parking in the area was also unacceptable for the business to succeed. In addition, the outdoor area between the warehouses was inaccessible for a fire lane and was in need of maintenance.

Embracing these challenges, the design team worked with the municipality and Fire Department to gain a full site plan update and change-of-use approval that met code and the client’s requirements. Design tactics addressed the code in alternative ways such as moveable barricades to the fire lane to provide seating space that could be accessed in case of emergency. The team took the care to explain how the design met the code intent but in configurations the jurisdiction having authority thought were innovative and productive. 

The project prioritizes connection through the formation of a community hub that invites users to  participate in all the stages of brewing and beverage production. Expansive glass garage doors line the warehouse's walls to provide a visual story of the brewing process, from production to consumption. Within this lens, manufacturing is considered a social connector rather than a fringe use to civic activities. 

Bright facade improvements and a lofted canopy structure give the warehouse campus an iconic character. The canopy structure’s exaggerated geometric steel frames, defining the relief of a roof, form the outdoor hearth of the campus. Informed hardscaping responds to the geometry to create seating, meeting, and community spaces between furniture, plantings, and re-purposed brewing equipment.

The design team embraced the warehouses’ fundamental elements by accentuating the structure, refinishing the concrete flooring, and multiplying many existing building details such as the use of overhead doors at all entry points to celebrate the reuse of the space.

Today, the design serves as a backdrop for artwork and creativity, as the business invites rotating local artists and sculptors to display and sell their work. The design team’s ongoing partnership with this art initiative collaborates with these artists and community partners to make their vision a reality.