202-222 Main Street

Carbondale, Colorado

 

Year of Remodel: 1998

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General Contractor: Jess Pedersen

 

The site is located in the second block of Main Street - a transition from commercial to residential zoning. The building is the first mixed-use commercial building as you enter historic downtown Carbondale from upvalley . The building program consisted of two apartments, some dysfunctional commercial space, and 750 square foot garage, whose back faced Main Street. The vinyl and plywood clad building was a historic structure in disguise.

 

The remodel consisted of adding an apartment, a commercial space, and adding a Main Street entry on the garage thus transforming the garage space into two commercial spaces, one being a space for my architecture studio. The building masses are tied together with the sunlight-covered veranda, thus solving the most challenging aspect of the project: to give this residential building a commercial identity without the cost of adding to the building footprint.

 

The Materials used as those found in historic downtown Carbondale, a former coal mining and once booming agricultural community. The front of the building was re-clad with barn green and barn red diamond shape asphalt shingles, new double hung windows and a corrugated metal skirt. The porch roof is made of wood framing and clear corrugated plastic. These are traditional materials of the region, but they lend a fresh interpretation of the past in their combination.