The “Steep and Deep” building, as it was known for years, is located in the Homewood neighborhood of Birmingham, and is layered in many ways. The basement level is home to The Red Lion, a divey local institution that has occupied the same space since 1962. The main and upper levels have seen a variety of retail and restaurant tenants come and go over the years, including a ski and dive shop by the name of Steep and Deep and a Chinese restaurant.
Programmatically, the design team was tasked with preserving The Red Lion while converting the upper two levels into one restaurant that included a commercial kitchen, full service bar and dining. Our clients had plans to expand their popular Oxford, MS concept, Big Bad Breakfast, and we soon learned from them that this building would house the newest outpost.
The design problem emerged almost immediately: the building was in dire need of a substantial structural intervention and the existing square footage was inadequate for the client’s vision and programmatic goals for the project.
Careful analysis of the existing conditions and structure of the building gave way to a series of architectural solutions that addressed the design problem. We recognized voids in the building that could be infilled with program, a strategy we referred to as “filling in the gaps”. This approach allowed us to strategically keep what was interesting about the existing structure while providing the functional space and structural reinforcing needed to bring the building back to life.
The result is a brick masonry building that is a patchwork of materials, both new and old. Architectural steel channels are introduced to frame large new openings and provide a subtle contrast to the masonry exterior. Roll-up doors at the north and south elevations allow for a fluid connection between the interior and exterior spaces. The existing slate roof and building signage is preserved to acknowledge the buildings history. And most importantly, The Red Lion remained open during the duration of construction.
