Interior Renovation
The Engine Room (formerly Shades Brewing), located in Salt Lake City’s Ballpark neighborhood, is an adaptive reuse transformation that converts a former diesel engine repair shop into a vibrant neighborhood brewpub. Drawing inspiration from the building’s heavy-machinery lineage and the district’s industrial fabric, the project honors the grit of the original service garage while adapting the high-volume volume for contemporary hospitality.
The renovation stripped decades of heavy automotive utility back to the essential structure, retaining utilitarian artifacts such as precast concrete roof trusses, durable concrete slab floors, and masonry perimeter walls. Serving as the primary architectural focal point, the original heavy-duty overhead engine cranes and hoists were meticulously preserved in place as an ode to the mechanics who once worked the bays—framing the cocktail bar. High-bay garage bays were enclosed with glazed, operable overhead doors to introduce generous daylight and establish a seamless indoor-outdoor threshold to the street. Inside, raw steel and industrial machinery elements are balanced by warm timber joinery, custom banquettes, and integrated acoustic ceiling baffles to calibrate reverberation. Subsurface mechanics pits were remediated and repurposed for draft trunk lines and utilities, seamlessly integrating complex infrastructure into the historic service floor.
