architecture

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL


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.

001. 11-07 CONSTRUCTION PHOTO

RED HOT BLUE HILLSBOROUGH ST