Project Description
PROVIDED BY AIA IDAHO:
After discussions with the Idaho Department of Lands (the owner) and prospective new client 10 Barrel Brewing Company, our design team found one thing clear: the hundred-year-old Sherm Perry building in downtown Boise was much more in need of renovation than the simple tenant improvement they were asking for. And the results were a celebration of a great many things.
Having served as a variety of retail stores offering women’s clothing to lamp shades to its original purpose, a garage for Boise Motor Company in 1915, the building had developed an incredible amount of layers. So after scouring the site, the design team decided to peel some of those layers, beginning by demolishing the walls that had long since subdivided the space into five separate retail units. That’s when the space really began to come alive.
Next, plaster was stripped, exposing original brick walls. Oversized glass and steel garage doors replaced much smaller existing windows and infill. Coupled with a new outdoor bar and patio, these transparent and convertible walls contribute to a feeling of exposure and transparency that purposely blur the indoor and outdoor environments. Now the space is as much a place to see and be seen as it is to eat and drink beer.
As it was designed to do, the Sherm Perry renovation – rather, transformation – has recaptured the spirit of a once idle corner of 9th and Bannock Streets and created a new and vital bookend to Boise’s thriving downtown social scene.
Reuse of as many materials recovered from the building’s interior seemed the best way to celebrate its history. Exposed, original wood structure is now prevalent. Wood reclaimed from the demolished ceilings was utilized in new window frames, walls, outdoor bar stools, and in a prominent host station. A new membrane roof was installed, allowing
for insulation to be moved to the roof deck. Plaster was removed from brick out of the original walls; they were then coated in a breathable sealant for preservation and structural reinforcement. Additional bricks needed for new entry pillars were closely matched to this existing masonry.
By removing the years of additions, views of exposed beams, mechanical systems, and concrete flooring now exist – creating a modern-yet-nostalgic, stripped down space more in line with its industrial roots.