Renovation of a 1948 washateria building in a historic neighborhood near downtown Tucson. The client desired an event space, a bar, an art gallery, and an office/production space for event planning, all contained within one space. The complex program required creative planning to ensure a cohesive aesthetic throughout the project, while allowing flexibility and adaptability depending on the use needed. During the workday it would be the offices and production facility for a high end event planner and floral arrangement company. At night it may serve as a hall for an office party or neighborhood association meeting. On Friday and Saturday nights, it would be a hip music lounge, and on Sunday morning a yoga studio.
The first step was to remove the confining interior partitions, and dropped ceilings and strip the years of paint and plaster on the wall back to the inherent beauty we found in the old brick shell and doug fir roof structure. We perforated the ceiling with several skylights to pour natural light down into the large open spaces. We selectively added furniture and walls to define the program using a complimentary pallet of steel, and wood, and leather to maintain the raw texture of the original space. White gallery display space is juxtaposed to the large living wall installation by Atelier de Lafleur.