The Wash
The Wash
Awards Category : : Small Project (25,000 sf or less)
The Wash is an adaptive reuse project which transformed a defunct, six-bay self-serve car wash into a diverse micro-stall food and beverage hall. The Wash ranks as one of the most creative re-purposed buildings in the city.
The Wash is the prototype for a new urban typology, the micro-stall food hall. In retaining the original architectural and civil morphology of the car wash, the design and development team successfully re-activated the formerly abandoned car wash into 5 kitchens, one cocktail bar, and communal outdoor dining space.
The site for the project rests at the crest of hill with its main frontage on Gallatin Avenue, the primary commercial corridor in East Nashville. The site makes up part of the border and acts as a gateway to the historic Eastwood Neighbors community beyond. This neighborhood is one of the most desirable in East Nashville boasting a variety of historic architectural styles, generous green spaces, and walkable streets. While the former car wash, non-functional for nearly a decade, acted as barrier between the neighborhood and the highly trafficked commercial space, the new design encourages the flow of people and ideas between neighbors, businesses, and community. Architecturally, this manifests new, pedestrian scaled glass and metal skin applied to the original concrete walls which divided the car wash stalls. Additionally, the former parking and vacuuming area of the car wash becomes a plant bordered outdoor dining space, community gathering place, and bicycle parking. The success of the 'The Wash' is apparent and long lasting.
A driving goal of the project was to lower the bar of entry for local entrepreneurs and those entering the food and beverage space for the first time. By developing six kitchens simultaneously, leveraging buying power and amortizing the cost over multiple units, the team was able to reduce standard equipment, Vendor and MEP costs to 1/6th of the average for first generation restaurant space.
What was once an abandoned carwash that occupied a prominent parcel along Gallatin is now a gathering space for neighbors as well as an incubator for local and minority restaurateurs that would likely otherwise be priced out of the market in this location. At The Wash, every one of the five spaces leased out by the developer has owners who are women or people of color.
Date of Completion: 4/1/2022
Client: 1101 McKennie LLC – The Wash Property Company
General Contractor: Eschelman Construction
Consultants:
Ben Whitlock, ben.whitlock@mobilefixture.com
Jay Fulmer, jay@fulmerlucas.com
Wendell Barnett, wbarnett@idesignservices.com
Robert Kennedy, robert@olertengineering.com
Michael Murray, Murray@structure-co.com
Photography Credits:
1. An overhead perspective of the original six-bay self-service car wash, which remained inoperative on a prominent intersection in East Nashville for nearly ten years.
Photo: Project Team
2. Occupying a valuable parcel of land, the project team recognized the inherent possibilities within the existing car wash structure and embarked on a journey to transform the area, aiming to rejuvenate the bustling street corner using an innovative urban concept—the micro-stall food hall.
Photo: Project Team
3. The original framework of the car wash was utilized as the foundation for the present bays at The Wash. Throughout the renovation process, the opposite side was sealed off, and walk-in refrigerator and freezer units were incorporated to ensure ample storage capacity. Additionally, a rear door was installed in each bay, enabling more convenient entry for food deliveries, waste disposal, and access to an employee-exclusive restroom.
Photo: Project Team
4. The site plan and overall layout of The Wash showcases a creative reinterpretation of the establishment. While preserving the car wash's original architectural features, the team behind the project skillfully converted the bays into six distinct stalls for food and beverage, and integrated outdoor areas for communal gatherings and dining.
Site Plan: Project Team
5. A perspective rendering conveyed the design intent behind the project to clients, which allowed them to visualize the architects’ objectives.
Rendering: Project Team
6. Opening April of 2022, The Wash design is a study in reduction. It is modern and utilitarian, less a statement in aesthetic than it is an exercise in placemaking with the goal of fostering neighborhood connection and rejuvenation, with a nod of course to the building’s former function.
Photo: Ali Harper Photography
7. The existing parking lot of The Wash becomes the de facto dining room to each kitchen tenant. After ordering at the service window at each bay, patrons may opt to enjoy their food or drink al fresco at the outdoor dining space bordered by plant and gabion walls, under canvas and string lights, around a fire pit, or along the 100 feet of banquet at The Wash’s Gallatin Pike facing edge.
Photo: Ali Harper Photography
8. A custom storefront window system, steel awning and light fixtures made of repurposed hose booms were designed to be applied to the front façade.
Sketches: Project Team
9. The pea gravel courtyard, complete with covered awning and firepits, offers year-round enjoyment, while the banquette wall acts as a buffer, enclosing The Wash’s patio above the street and behind a wall of Black Bamboo.
Photo: Ali Harper Photography
10. The cocktail bar in bay 6 is the only permanent tenant. Custom banquettes with integrated drink tables were designed to allow for indoor seating along one wall of the micro-stall.
Photos: Ali Harper Photography
11. The unique size of each kitchen and stall space provides an opportunity for tenants to explore new concepts and markets in cases where full-service restaurants would not be an option.
Photo: Ali Harper Photography
12. Retaining the original carwash structure, each approximately 300 square foot bay is converted into an efficient and fully equipped commercial kitchen fitted to the needs of each individual tenant.
Photos: Ali Harper Photography
13. What was once an abandoned carwash is now a successful gathering space for neighbors as well as an incubator for local and minority restaurateurs.
Photo: Ali Harper Photography