CREJ - Journal

MARCH 2015 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \

in on a program we thought would work. This plan of attack

called for 29 containers comprising 8,200 square feet and de-

mised into 10 suites. Needless to say, this is a much different

endeavor than working with a wide-open 8,200-sf core and

shell delivery. Once the infrastructure improvements were

completed, each container became its own “mini-project”

with welders, electricians, framers and other trade workers

competing for space to complete their jobs, as there wasn’t

much to go around.

As anyone in construction knows, obstacles surface every

day during a project no matter how tight the planning and

design, but we attempted to maintain a well-choreographed

dance throughout. We had a great choreographer in Sprung

Construction but, due to the size constraints, our music was

continually being interrupted and sometimes the song would

change mid-step. Despite some of the unknowns we encoun-

tered during the job, we always had a very specific vision for

the tenant mix, which helped us plan ahead for the mechan-

ical, electrical, plumbing and penetrations required for each

mini-project within the development. Some of the defined

uses include:

Suite 100: 640-sf fast-casual restaurant (two 40-foot contain-

ers)

Suite 101: 1,280-sf full-service restaurant (four 40-foot con-

tainers)

Suite 102: 640-sf clothing boutique (two 40-foot containers)

Suite 103: 800-sf coffee shop (five 20-foot containers)

The finished project cost more than we thought and took

longer than we anticipated, but it’s the most fun I’ve ever had

researching and designing, working the job site, and now

watching the development thrive. The 29 containers trans-

ported textiles, spices and supplies during their past life (some

for as long as 13 years), but are now filled with people and

pets, backpacks and boots, local coffee, craft beer, duck confit,

oysters and wood fired pizza – a testament to the power of

adaptive re-use.

John Gibbons

Floor-to-ceiling windows were cut into the end of each

container.

John Gibbons

An outdoor patio on the second level completes the container’s indoor-outdoor space.

TRENDS

in Adaptive Reuse