ElevenTH cleaned the building up, painted it a clean, bright monolithic white and restored the original front glass windows. In a nod to its original state, they paired down the interior to the original block material and added reclaimed light fixtures and salvaged cedar planks. The office is small to say the least, and at 245 sq ft there isn’t much extra room, so they had to be smart about their interior organization. They split the office into three areas: main workspace, administrative workroom and reference closet.
Tulsa is the birthplace of Route 66, so the location has also become one of inspiration, and one that is also very accessible for clients. In its first incarnation as a gas station, the building was very accessible and encourage people to come inside. When it was renovated into an architecture office, the firm wanted to retain a similar feeling. To facilitate that further, they installed a green lawn underneath the shade canopy in front, which provides a greater connection with the sidewalk and people passing by.
WHY THIS MATTERS:
Why construct a new building from materials that have to be sourced, manufactured and then transported to the build site (requiring a significant amount of energy and causing the emission of greenhouse gases), when you could just revamp an existing building? By recycling an old gas station, ElevenTH was able to save materials and energy, and we think the resulting office is way cooler than a new one would be.
Images ©ElevenTH
Most of the time we don’t need the lights. When we do, the lighting is wonderful. We have been in the space for 1.5 years and the period appropriate globes won’t be going anywhere.
actually the lighting is wonderful…
While I would probably jump at the chance to have a workspace like this – the lighting can only be described as “ghastly”. I’m more than certain there’s a period-appropriate pendant luminary that would bounce light off the ceiling and not give you headaches.
I’ll bet the light fixtures get switched out within months.
pure and total grooviness!