1123 Walnut St. / MQ Structure

1123 Walnut St. / MQ Structure

Textual content description offered by the architects. This fee encompassed two separate commissions. The primary one was to develop a two-story mixed-use constructing on a 48 toes vast by 150 toes deep “occasion” lot. The second problem consisted of the design of a brand new typology of hospitality: a hashish lounge for the leisure consumption of Marihuana.

The mission faces Boulder’s Downtown Historic District, a Landmark space constructed round 1880 the place many of the tons are 25 toes vast with brick occasion partitions. After World Struggle II loads of these buildings have been modernized with steel and precast facade panels.

We recognized probably the most attribute formal components of the Eighteen Eighties: two brick occasion partitions; an higher story with a distinguished roof cornice and 4’x8’ vertically proportioned home windows; floor ground with giant storefront show home windows, recessed entrances, show window bulkheads and uncovered forged iron columns.

We abstracted these components to design the facade, making use of up to date supplies with a reference to the modular and prefabricated panel techniques from the mid-century. Due to this fact, the higher degree is solved with aluminum white crate panels mounted on brackets over a stucco end, making a sample with giant 4’x8’ operable home windows and folding on the highest creating the cornice; the bottom ground with 12’ excessive glass panels, aluminum frames, aluminum cladding, and round white metal columns.

Because the avenue degree required separate entrances for the three completely different makes use of, we proposed two symmetrical recessed entrances on either side of the facade. The doorway to the hospitality is on the East finish and the doorway to the workplace area is on the West facet, with the retail storefront operating in between.

Because the marihuana hospitality required an area disadvantaged of home windows, we positioned it on the again space of the bottom ground. As a way to convey pure gentle to the area, we conceived a big 16×16 toes skylight flooding the area with gentle by a gold aluminum crate that impedes direct visible contact between inside and out of doors. The skylight turns into an open patio with a terrace on the second ground that contributes to organizing the workplace area. In part, the skylight and the patio work collectively as an inverted terraced pyramid, bringing pure gentle uniformly all through the deep ground plan. Some vegetation sits on the perimeter of the skylight.

The vestibule of the workplace area is topped with a white perforated steel staircase suspended from the ceiling with backlit reclaimed wooden treads recovered from the unique constructing. The second ground, conceived as an workplace rental in its entirety, is an open plan with a service bar allocating loos, a kitchenette, and vertical circulation. By way of the long-windowed wall and the aluminum crate facade, the workplace takes benefit of the spectacular Iron flats views.