Completed: 2023
Location: 1804 S. 1st Street, Austin . Texas 78704
Idea:
Re-imagine a vacant auto repair shop and 1912 Texas corner store into an all day convenience store / cafe.
And more importantly, offer a romantic courtyard experience not found in Austin.
Design: 11/2018
Completed: 10/2019
Location: 607 W. 3rd Street, Austin . Texas
Statement:
Inspired by Texas Hill Country swimming holes, Intelligentsia Third + Shoal was imagined as an urban refuge; A way for people to escape the hustle of the City or hide from the heat of a Texas Summer. Drawing from the geology of a swimming hole, the Interior Design is a natural vs. man-made conversation between two elements: “The Weathered Rock” and “The Brick Wall”
Conceived as a “Weathered Rock,” the Coffee Bar is made of carved Texas Gray Lueders limestone, the same stone found in many swimming holes. The Bar’s horseshoe shape centers the room, like sculpture in a gallery, allowing customers to flow around the coffee making experience.
The “Brick Wall,” or mural, acts as a strong visual element to the room, luring in customers and functionally hiding all of the A/C and back-of-house systems.
To avoid a heavy-handed architectural design, we invited Erin Curtis, an Austin-based artist, to design the mural. Erin seemed like the natural choice, as her Art in Public Spaces installation, called “Pedestrian Geometries” is situated on Third Street. Her previous installation is a series of playful sidewalk sculptures that guide people from the Convention Center to Third + Shoal. The piece she created called for this project, “We Are Living On A Star” is a series of layered patterns, woven together like a textile. Nearly 4,800 bricks were cut by, sorted and installed by CW Oates Masonry.
The bricks used in the mural were manufactured by Elgin Butler, one of the oldest brick companies in Texas and was originally located on the shores of Lady Bird Lake, before relocating to Elgin, Texas. Elgin Butler brick can be found in most buildings throughout Austin dating to the 1870’s, under the name "Austin Common”. Their bricks have been used throughout Texas and can be found as far as Chicago and New York. To avoid project delays and roadblocks, Erin selected mis-fired shapes and rejected colors that were stocked in Elgin, just 30 minutes from downtown Austin. Each brick was roughly $2.
Our aim was to make a hand-made space in a rather slick corporate office building. To make a space that could only exist here in Austin, in this time, in this place. Made by local hands, of local materials to welcome Intelligentsia Coffee to Texas.
Roles: Architecture, Interiors, FFE + Lighting Design
General Contractor: Franklin Alan
Mason: C.W. Oates
Brick: Elgin Butler
Limestone: Continental Cut Stone
Wood Doors: Hewn
Furniture: Boomtown + Blackcreek Merchantile & Trading Co
Awards:
• 2020 AIA Austin Design Award Commendation - Local Craftsmanship
• 2021 Specialty Coffee Association - Design Award Finalist
• 2021 Golden Trowel Award - Central Texas Masonry Council (regional)
• 2021 Golden Trowel Award - Texas Masonry Council (state)
c: 2019
Statement:
Situated on South Congress Avenue, this bicycle gallery and all-day cafe will be the first Meteor location in Texas. The architecture for this store is a nod to old diners spun with moments of eclectic materials and relaxed details. Most of the original 1920’s building was left intact, just cleaned and sandblasted. While 1980’s windows, a failing roof and mansard awning were removed. Using the existing window opening, we designed a new steel window system that was quirky and joyful through reflections of light. The hope was the windows might make people smile, whether on bike, foot or passing bye in a car.
The interiors were left on the raw side of things. Layers of applied materials were removed to expose the original pink terrazzo floor, Texas cream limestone and unique steel truss/wood roof structure. The bicycle area was a small addition to the original building, composed of Douglas Fir Plywood and rafters. We wanted the bicycle display to be a curated focal point, showcasing custom bicycles and hard-to-find cycling goods. Shadows and light change throughout the day, making for a museum-like space to look at custom bicycles.
As a nod to the amazing neon community in Austin, we asked Blackout Signs to fabricate a 24 foot neon pendant that rounds out the space and perhaps is an orbital reference to Jack London’s “Credo” and the desire for being a Meteor.
Client: Doug Zell + Chris St.Peter
General Contractor: Green Guild [Ian Stowe]
Services: Architecture, Interiors, Permitting and Lighting
Neon Fabrication: Blackout Signs
Press:
Design: 2021 - 2022
Completion: 2022
Location: Al Yasmin Neighborhood . Riyadh . Saudi Arabia
Task:
Design a coffee shop for the Riyadh based roaster Idmi Coffee.
Concept:
An internal topography for coffee exploration.
Inspired by the incredible packaging and branding, the idea behind this space was to tell a story about an animal under three clouds.
The anchor of this experience is a wall, inspired by the Saudi gazelle’s hair structure, rendered in a series of lapping pieces of painted plywood, rendered in IDMI Coffee’s branding colors. Irregular, dynamic and non-literal.
Be the animal.
Traverse the land.
Feel clouds as they pass over you.
Location: Riyadh . Saudi Arabia
About:
Make an upscale coffee experience within a luxury retail development, near the King’s gardens.
The development, shaped by a famous Saudi architect, is 6 stand-alone glass clad cubes.
In an effort to bring IDMI Coffee’s brand to this space, 3 materials define the interiors. Dark Umber plaster, stainless steel plate and dowels (stainless or walnut).
The materials are designed to suggest reflections, mirages and interactions with product and different seating areas.
Design: 2021
Location: 2043 S. Lamar Blvd. Austin . Texas
Photos: Proud Mary Coffee
Task:
Re-imagine an existing fine dining restaurant into the Melbourne born | Portland, OR based coffee company’s first cafe in Texas.
Strange honor to edit one of Michael Hsu’s first buildings in Austin into a new concept. Removed some old awkward bits to align the space for simpler flow and more spacious vibe.
Design: 2020
Location: Giza . Egypt
Task:
Design the first brick and mortar coffee shop for a Giza based coffee roaster.
About:
For some…
coffee is a gift from the Gods.
The idea behind this shop is called “The Divine Inversion”.
Light is the giver to many things and in this case great coffee.
Is coffee a gift from Ra?
A divine pour over from above?
Playing off this concept and aligning it within the company’s brand, the main move is creating a ceiling element that represents a room-scaled coffee filter. It pokes fun at the seriousness of architecture and the archetypal symbolism of the “Axis Mundi”.
An imaginary symbolic axis that unites the heavens, mankind and earth.
Design: 2023
Client: Brown Nose Coffee
Location: Maadi District, Cairo . Egypt
Design: 2021
Completed: 2022
Location: 4800 F, Austin . Texas 78756
Services: Architecture, Interiors, Lighting
Task:
Re-imagine a doggie day care into a local convenience store.
Idea:
Take a background building and turn it into an unexpected discovery.
Two rounded rectangles define the interior experience. One exposes the airy white painted trusses above the shop, the other illuminates the coffee bar.
One innie, one outie. The positive and negative.
A great little place to shop AM to PM.
Design: 2022
Completed: 2023
Location: City Hall, Austin . Texas
About:
There are many flags flown throughout the history of Texas.
The City known as Austin, once Waterloo and many names times before.
This interior fit-out took its inspiration from the flags in the wind. A flat plane, bent by wind into dynamic forms.
A curving soffit conceals all the systems and reflects light to brighten the space. Below the soffit, a band of painted millwork + merchandise displays.
Design: 2023
Location: Congress Avenue
Coffee Partner: Figure 8 Coffee
Concept: Create an intimate, cozy coffee & organic wine bar within an old 900 square foot deli.
Location: Austin . Texas
Client: McGuire Moorman Hospitality
Interior Designer: Lambert McGuire Design
Contract: Architect of Record, Permitting
Scope:
Assist Larry McGuire and team on renovating the old Sweetish Hill into an all-day bakery and commissary kitchen.
