The Grocery Studios, Seattle
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT: Mutuus Studio
MATERIALS
The building’s historic brick exterior was updated with new windows and doors along with new heating, cooling and lighting systems that bring contemporary residential comfort to the historic interiors.
The challenge was to bring a home and art studio together. Prior to remodeling, the building’s second-floor apartment and street-level studio had independent exterior entries with no interior connection. A new internal stair now connects the apartment, which is living space, to the street-level studio below.
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The interior parking garage is enclosed with historic solid-wood firewalls and ceiling that are revealed as warm-wood interior walls for the new guest suite.
The area previously serving as grocery space features a 13-foot-tall ceiling and tall windows. It has been transformed into a living-room art studio. The existing windows were updated with new energy-efficient windows that were designed to be proportional with the existing historical architecture.
Home and studio come together in a new kitchen opened with new long-span beams and steel column as part of a seismic structural retrofit. New, folding steel details and micarta drawer pulls and linen-clad panels, made by Mutuus Studio, add a further layer of detail and craft.
THE RETROFIT
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The Grocery Studios is the private home and art studio for a creative couple in the North Beacon Hill neighborhood. The studio is a creative space where the clients host pop-up art exhibitions, workshops, lectures, music performances and other creative activities. The Grocery Studios’ street-facing windows are the home of the walk-up gallery, which is essentially a free and open exhibition space for the community.
The 3,800-square-foot historic building has deep roots in the community. The building was constructed in 1929 and owned by Sam and Mary Ulovich, who ran a grocery store there until 1943. In 1955, the store was listed as Three Thousand and One Grocery. From 1961-65, the building was known as Fred’s Grocery. The structure also has served as a restaurant supply and an outreach ministry from 1998-2005. Mutuus Studio worked with the new owners to take the building into the next evolution of its existence.
PHOTOS: Mutuus Studio and Jon McCallister