Revitalisation of urban neighbourhoods continues to bring homeowners back to the inner city, and offers abandoned buildings new life as residential developments. In many downtown areas, this means renovating the shell and services of an existing industrial building, and dividing the space into loft-style apartments.
This approach was taken when developer Steve Yndo renovated two glass-working factories from the early 1900s. He asked architect Jim Poteet of Poteet Architects to keep the exterior remodelling sensitive to both the buildings' origins and the general neighbourhood. The buildings sit in a National Register Historic District, populated with large, dignified Victorian homes.
"These buildings wear the turn-of-the-century industrial livery of red clay brick," says Poteet. "Work on the exterior was kept to a minimum and no attempt was made to jazz-up or gentrify the historic exteriors.
"We kept the new insertions as minimal as possible to let the original industrial use read through. That a factory coexisted with this Victorian neighbourhood at the turn of the century only adds to the area's richness."
Poteet's company, in close collaboration with FAB Architecture's Patrick Ousey, also handled much of the interior renovating for the individual residents, including Yndo's own apartment.
The Yndo family has small children, so it was important that this loft had a comfortable feel, rather than a hard-edged, industrial look. Their extensive collection of contemporary art played a role in the overall design, too.