Restitch
A renovation proposal for a decommissioned substation in the Houston Heights into a public-facing recycled clothing storefront with an in-house workshop and a private home. A delicate new steel structure maximizes the available ceiling height accommodating up to three floors of open floor space to satisfy program requirements while preserving the look/memory and spaciousness of the building. A play of porous and solid “walls” is then imposed on this new structural grid where necessary to functionally separate the building’s components without compromising its feeling of continuous open space or the privacy of visitors. Here, a “wall” is thought of as a dividing plane regardless of material quality or orientation; it can be concrete, sliding glass, a standard white synthetic curtain for a soft division or one stretched parallel to the ground to perform as a shade and hammock. In this case it is also a symbol that champions the synthetic textile, outwardly celebrating its contents on the inside. As shoppers traverse deeper through the soft thresholds to discover, the space and its merchandise slowly reveals itself, as opposed to often fast and overwhelming contemporary fashion sales models where everything is displayed at once. Similarly, the workshop and home can function as singular open volumes or subdivided space with amplified privacy, such as to accomodate public and private workshop operations, if desired. In any case, the building is a careful balancing act of openness and privacy, soft and hard.
