Established in Boston in 1874, Shepley Bulfinch is a national design practice providing the education, healthcare, science, corporate and public markets with architecture, planning and interior design. Its diverse practice includes offices in Boston and Phoenix, AZ, together employing 130 architects, planners, interior designers, and supporting professionals. We spoke to Shepley Bulfinch Principal Chris Nieto about the firm's recent work with adaptive reuse.
Nieto, who co-founded merzproject architecture with partner Joe Herzog as a Phoenix design start-up in 2004, became a principal at Shepley Bulfinch following its merger with merzproject in 2009. He was recently selected as one of this year's Forty Under 40 by the Phoenix Business Journal.
Shepley Bulfinch's recent design for the Windsor & Churn restaurants' adaptive reuse improvement project includes many salvaged parts from historical buildings in New York, Chicago, and European cities. Where did you get the inspiration for this design? Did it come from the material, or was the material used to fit the concept?
The salvaged architectural materials used on Windsor & Churn was sought after, collected or procured by Upward Projects, the operator and client of the project. Shepley Bulfinch was responsible for the architecture, space-defining aspects, and overall architectural planning, and we didn't have play a role in the selection of any of these pieces in this specific case.
How much has working with Upward Projects impacted your company's mission?
For the Windsor and Churn project, we didn't take a role in selecting or procuring the salvaged materials and artifacts. Upward Projects, which was our design partner on the Windsor & Churn restaurants project and is also the owner and operator of the restaurants, continuously seeks materials and artifacts that inspire the firm to make new designs for both existing and yet-to-be-invented future restaurant concepts. Upward Projects is breathtakingly good at what they do, from concept, to operations - I've personally never witnessed anything like the people behind this company. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun to collaborate with them.
Although the materials and artifacts seen in the Windsor & Churn project were not selected by our firm, we try and use salvaged materials whenever we can. For example, in 2008 we completed on The LINK, located at the heart of the Phoenix Cultural District, which repurposed the structural shell of a two-story, mid-century commercial structure and, coupled with high-performance interventions, transformed the structure into building stock well-suited for the 21st century. For The LINK, we used almost 80% recycled building materials to build-out the GIANT COFFEE space as well as build the custom furniture for the GIANT COFFEE space. In our Phoenix studio, which is also located in The LINK, we used reclaimed barn wood from the Midwest.
We have worked on several adaptive reuse projects in the urban core of Phoenix, and we have sourced salvaged materials like floors, bar counters, and lamps for these projects. Although it takes work to find and implement recycled or reclaimed materials, it is usually very rewarding.
Aside from creating wonderful adaptive reuse designs, what has your company done to go green?
At Shepley Bulfinch, environmental, economic, and social sustainability are core values that reflect our commitment to responsible planning and design. We actively seek out ways to apply the most intelligent, forward-looking technologies and materials to our projects so that our buildings enhance and improve the communities they serve. This approach informs every stage of project planning, bringing together the knowledge and perspectives of all stakeholders and maximizing the value of investments during construction and operation.
As architects, we feel it is our responsibility to design smart buildings. Although building technology changes as each day passes, we have always practiced designing environmentally-conscious buildings-since our inception in the 1800s.
What other adaptive reuse projects are you currently working on?
Shepley Bulfinch has worked on over a dozen adaptive-reuse projects over the past six years, a trend that we are seeing as an advantage for developers who are looking to invest in properties but cannot justify investing in ground-up, new construction projects-especially as long as many existing buildings, due to one of the biggest real-estate crashes in Phoenix history, can be acquired for below replacement values.
Upcoming adaptive-reuse projects include a few restaurant facilities and an office facility in the Phoenix Metro area. One of our charges, for years to come, will be to make sure our existing building stock is repurposed to meet the needs of the ever-evolving space-user. We look forward to meeting those needs.
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