The adaptive reuse of the former industrial warehouse building is divided into an art gallery and workshop for the artist Cbabi Bayoc and the other half for By Jack / Mid-Coast Media. Preserving the character of the old building by exposing the brick walls on the interior was balanced with the need for all new infrastructure and in particular the white gallery walls in the west space. The windows were replaced on the north facade, activating the street front and providing inviting entrances to the two main spaces. A series of light monitors were added to the roof to introduce daylight into the gallery and workshop areas while the walls were maintained as work surfaces for the artist and creative agency. A series of new glazed opening in the brick wall provide access to the garden space to the east for outdoor events.

The large signage becomes part of the visual identity for the building where the street numbers appear to be carved into a solid mass. When viewed from the front elevation, the number is read clearly, but as people approach the entry, they see the resulting geometry of the numbers cut into the oblique angle of the sign mass.

Client: Kranzberg Arts Foundation
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Planning: 2021
Construction: 2022

Architect: OSA LLC/ Chandler Ahrens
Structural Engineer: Upright Design & Consulting
General Contractor: Lockwood Construction and Development
Exterior/ Interior Signage: Engraphix

Size: 6,000 s.f./  557 m2
Cost: $750,000

Awards:
Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Most Enhanced Award 2023