Beast in Austin, USA by Specht Harpman

Article source: Specht Harpman

This project involved the renovation and adaptive re-use of an existing single-story brick building in downtown Austin.  The structure, built in the 1920’s, housed a wide variety of tenancies through the years, from a mom-and pop grocery store to leasing offices for new downtown condominiums.  The current owner, a creative company involved with film production, was on an extremely limited budget, and wanted to re-use as much of what existed as possible while making something that was uniquely “Austin” in character.

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

• Architects: Specht Harpman
• Project: Beast
• Location: Austin, Texas, USA
• Software used: Autocad

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

We embraced this spirit of frugality, re-purposing, assemblage, and local-sourcing, and used many unique strategies in the space:  Re-sawn siding from a demolished building in Austin became a wall and ceiling surfacing that gives a great deal of character to the common areas; raw, stock steel segments from a local supplier were used to fabricate interior partitions, space dividers, and kitchen installations; cement backer-board, a rough, common material which is usually used as an underlayment for tile, was applied as another surface treatment; and cheap off-the-shelf chandeliers were painted and installed for feature lighting.  Many interior partitions and surfaces were re-worked and reinstalled, saving money and allowing traces of the varied history of the space to be a part of the new use.

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

The resulting space perfectly fits the character of the client, the neighborhood, and the city, and still serves the functional needs for which it has been created.

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Image Courtesy © Specht Harpman

Tags: Austin, USA

Categories: Autocad, Building, House

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