Keep Austin Weird. I think about this sentiment a lot when I enter old buildings downtown, on east 6th and in grungy honky tonks of south Austin. Our city continues to grow rapidly and it is evident that our collective identity is at hand. As an interior designer, I am in the unique position and have the professional opportunity to not only help modernize but contribute to preservation, in keeping Austin weird. Often I am faced with projects where preserving the history, story and personality of space is just as integral to its success as bringing in new elements. These opportunities spark my joy and I have found immense satisfaction in these builds.
It’s not merely about aesthetics or nostalgia; it’s about maintaining a community and honoring the stories that have shaped it.
A recent example was an old warehouse building in San Antonio that used to be a car mechanic’s shop. The hospitality group Pouring With Heart and developer Hixon Properties agreed to turn it into a brewery, though the building was a little banged up, to say the least.
The property had clear signs of damage and aging; broken windows, graffiti, a chipped-up slab, and rotten rafters, yet hints of a former life also presented themselves: a basketball hoop, colorful trusses, and a prominent mural that read “cultivating your confidence” were intact.
Knowing that mechanics who worked for the Cavender Cadillac group had inhabited this place, you could imagine break times filled with shooting hoops, a boss that believed in positive reinforcement, and a general spirit of playfulness. We can bring that same spirit into the brewery design, I thought.
This building could have easily been demolished. It needed a completely new skeleton: a new roof, a large replacement of joists, new windows to meet energy code, lots of slab patching, brick repointing and water control at the east foundation. Instead, many parties came together to develop, design, and build what turned about to be a beautiful brewery. This brewery came to be called Idle Brewing, a nod to an idling car or a day spent on the shaded patio with a fresh brew in hand.
When the build was completed, a local San Antonian came in, sat at the bar and ordered a drink. He shared with the staff that he used to be a mechanic at this shop, and had many memories of inhabiting the space with co-workers, customers, and his former employer, Cavender Cadillac.
This encounter was the perfect end to this project, and a reminder of why preserving the character of just one old building can be so important. It’s not just about aesthetics or nostalgia; it’s about maintaining a community and honoring the stories that have shaped it.
I find immense satisfaction in these kinds of projects. It’s not just about designing a space —
it’s about curating an experience that resonates with the community.
Keeping Austin weird, or any place true to its roots, is about embracing the oddities, the history, and the character that make it unique.
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