Client: 21 Pacific LLC
Size: Mixed Use 12,000 sf
Location: Tacoma, WA

The historic Bone-Dry Shoe Company Building rehabilitates a warehouse and manufacturing space into a new office for McGranahan Architects and retail frontage along Pacific Avenue in downtown. Design research into this building’s past uncovered the name of the Bone-Dry Shoe Manufacturing company as the original 1918 occupant who created footwear for loggers working in the forests of the Pacific Northwest. The design concept for the rehabilitation recognized the similarities between the craft of the cobbler and the craft of the architect. "Idea Factory" became the expression of this similarity. The goal was to build a place for the delivery of architectural ideas and to implement the "idea factory" concept. To maintain the industrial character, the major accents of steel cables and beams are used for the grand entrance staircase and outdoor trellis. Reutilizing existing materials such as the diamond plate steel and exposing the original fir beams and floors reinforced the industrial feel.