The Horny Goat Entertainment Complex

Project Details

Project Description

From the AIA:

Located along the Kinnickinnic River in the heart of Milwaukee’s industrial riverfront community, The Horny Goat Entertainment Complex is “what you want on urban waterfronts – refreshing authenticity” the jury noted. This project began as a simple program calling for the redesign of the existing restaurant’s kitchen, an outdoor area for volleyball and a covered outdoor bar. However, the architect recognized the site’s potential with its open space occupied by industrial remnants of a previous life. Envisioned as a destination, the new site design embraces the river and beckons boaters and landlubbers alike. The removal of industrial equipment made way for the volleyball courts, green space, three-season bar, patio, river boardwalk with boat slips and nice vantage points of the city. Both the architecture and the building materials capture the identity of the Horny Goat Brewery & Pub as well as Milwaukee’s industrial past. Exposed wood beams, inverted wood joists, steel cable railings and a aluminum storefront with operable louvers reflect a simplicity of materials that takes cues from the neighborhood’s industrial surroundings and the site’s nautical history. The renovation and expansion of this well-loved brew pub shows what can be achieved when clients and architects push the boundaries.

Jury Comments: “It’s refreshing to see a simple pavilion and deck that complements an existing structure. The project is all about the experience. It’s what you want on urban waterfronts – refreshing authenticity. Through its openness, transparency and simple detailing, the building possesses the spirit that it should have along a river in an unforced way. We like the disarmingly simple site plan and the selection of industrial materials, put together in a simple and consistent vocabulary that makes the project an authentic assemblage. It shows the power of energizing a place and an owner who has a commitment to an area that typically would be ignored.”

For more information, please visit: http://aiaw.org/media/DA2012pr.shtml