After sitting vacant for nearly a decade, Finish Point now calls the former auto shop home. This project began as a site and building shell updates for Hatcher Hill Properties, but renovations shifted inside when Finish Point expressed interest in the building.
The building sits on the prominent corner of Western Avenue and University Avenue. The surrounding grades were very irregular and required special attention when redesigning the site for truck access and handicap accessibility. The loading dock was a critical element in the functionality of their business. It is used for bringing in raw material as well as loading finished pieces into a delivery truck.
As a result of the existing grades, the building has a split level interior. During the schematic design phase, diagrams of the interior circulation assisted in the layout of the building to determine the best flow for materials, fabrication, office staff, and customers within the limits of the accessibility code.
The residential millwork and cabinet maker was looking for an expanded space for their fabrication shop as well as office and showroom. The industrial feel of the building suited their needs, but this brought some unique challenges with dust collection and the strict code requirements. Dust collection, ventilation, and exhaust hoods are used throughout the building. The existing exposed CMU block walls and steel joists roof structure were painted in monochromatic, gray tones to offset the warmth of Finish Point’s wood products in both the fabrication shop and showroom.
We appreciate our collaboration with Hatcher Hill Properties and Finish Point to bring new life to an abandoned building in Knoxville.
Photography by Alyssa Nealon at nvelop AP.