An event space located in a large industrial space of a former manufacturing complex is flexible enough that can easily transition from a baby shower celebration to a corporate networking event of up to 100 people. The raw space had rough concrete floors, exposed brick walls, full height sliding metal fire doors, and an exposed steel beam and concrete structure. The owners asked the industrial quality of the space be preserved while creating a welcoming space that they could mostly build themselves (The owner’s husband is a fabricator).

Running the full length of the space is a feature wall clad in reclaimed rough-sawn white oak boards of random widths set between a series of regularly spaced white oak verticals. These oak verticals extend horizontally over the event space as an open trellis that creates a smaller scaled space within the larger volume of the room. Clusters of corded lights wrap these ribs to provide a flexible light source and evoke grapevines hanging from a garden arbor.

Large 8’ high and 10’ wide segments of the oak wall are mounted onto custom steel tracks that allow these segments to slide to the side to reveal three large alcoves lined with corrugated metal and a bronze colored wall visible through the perforations in the metal. These deep alcoves are programed depending upon the event with features like mobile bar, furniture storage, and projection screen.

Tectum sound control panels were added to the underside of the concrete slab ceiling as a way to control the reflective sound due to the concrete and brick raw space. At the top portion of the oak feature wall, tectum panels are interspersed between the oak to create a random pattern that transition form sound control to a durable tactile surface.

The large metal sliding fire doors were stripped of their “firetruck red” paint exposing the natural patina of the metal sheeting wrapping the doors. These doors with their silver and brass tones provide a rich contrast to the surrounding crisp white painted brick.