Raleigh, NC
6000 SF

The RH+B project is an interesting story that involves an iconic building in disrepair, a client with a chain restaurant and a small budget.  Seeing the potential buried in the building and the restaurant, Vernacular Studio proposed a reinvention for both. Red Hot & Blue was known for their Memphis barbeque, but not necessarily as a destination restaurant or bar.  With this in mind, the owner sought to bring RH+B to the downtown Raleigh area and selected the “Old Darryl’s” building as the new home of the restaurant.  In a collaborative effort between the owner, the contractor and V-Studio, Red Hot & Blue was reborn into a modern take on the old Memphis smokehouse.

The historic load bearing brick building sits on the wedge shaped corner of a main intersection of Hillsborough Street. Over the past century, several add-hoc “renovations” and simple neglect left the building void of its original character. V-Studio’s design concept was centered on recapturing the essence of the building while reinterpreting the long abandoned storefront along Hillsborough Street to create a modern smokehouse and a new, refined concept for the restaurant. The weathered brick exterior is contrasted by new aluminum storefront that provides a visual dialogue between the interior activities and bustling streetscape. On the interior, simple gestures were made to focus attention on a series of load bearing brick walls that formed the original storefront bays and existing non-structural wood timbers were removed and reused to create various architectural features.