Gates Hardware Building, Tulsa, Okla.
Retrofit Team
Architect, Developer and Interior Designer: KSQ Design, Tulsa, ksq.design
David W. Short, AIA, project manager
Juana Gomez, Assoc. AIA, project designer
Kyle Casper, technical director
Doug Willim, AIA, interior design director
George Pritchard IV, RID
Engineers: Cyntergy AEC, Tulsa; Wallace Engineering, Tulsa; and Ross Engineering, Tulsa
General Contractor: The Ross Group, Tulsa
Materials
The following materials were used in KSQ Design’s second-floor office project within
the building:
Carpet: Human Nature Carpet Tiles from Interface
Glass Partitions: Lightline Architectural Wall from KI
LED Light Fixtures: A Light AccoLED from Alcon Lighting
Elevator Shaft Tile: Laminam from Crossville
Kitchen Tile: Perspective Pure from Emser Tile
Bathroom Tile: Motion from Emser
Front Desk: Quartz from Caesarstone
Roller Shades: MechoSystems
Bathroom Sinks: Advocate from Bradley Corp.
Bottle-filling Station: EZH20 from Elkay Manufacturing Co.
The Retrofit
KSQ Design purchased the Gates Hardware Building in Tulsa’s Brady Arts District in late 2014 and moved its 63-member Tulsa staff to the 14,000-square-foot second floor of the mixed-use structure. (Eslick Design also is housed on the second floor.) The gut renovation of the 90-year-old building featured challenges, including building instability and the grading of the parking lot, which contained forgotten oil tanks from railroad cars.
The building is located immediately across from the main entrance of ONEOK Field where the Tulsa Drillers baseball team plays. The entry pays homage to the building’s origins with raw steel, spots of exposed brick and metal partitions throughout, which resemble peg boards commonly found in hardware stores. The historic “East End Experience” marquee (previously on the corner of the building) hangs in the double-volume lobby stairway. KSQ Design’s office features an open studio, glass-encased conference rooms with ballpark-themed names—Dugout, Bullpen and Press Box—to match the ballpark views, a full kitchen, community spaces and an open studio environment underscoring the creative culture within the firm. The office includes energy-efficient glass, LED lights, low-flow showers and sinks, and a water-bottle refilling station.
On the street level, the Gates Hardware Building is home of McNellie’s Group and Marshall Brewing’s new sports bar and microbrew pub, Elgin Park, along with She Theater, a performance art and dance club. The downstairs also is 14,000 square feet.
The project was made possible by Brady Arts District TIFF funds. As David W. Short, AIA, project manager with KSQ Design told The Journal Record, “If it weren’t for the historic tax credits, the $3 million rehabilitation would not have been worth it.”
Photos: KSQ Design