Q Club
Seattle
Washington
auto garage transformed
queer community dance palace
two-level inhabitable torpedo
x-braced for earthquakes


A solid curved wall and light tube installation provide privacy at the sidewalk level storefront glass. The upper portion of the wall forms a guardrail for the owner’s office and a spot to look down to the street to see how long of a line is forming for the club. 
Preliminary concept sketches
Nose of the “torpedo”
Before
The two-story “torpedo” houses a second bar, lounge space, and offices. The all-people restroom is behind the red glowing windows.





An adaptive reuse of a 1912 masonry building from defunct auto garage to happening dance club, this project had one of everything: zoning change, seismic structural upgrade, complete utilities overhaul, plus infrastructure and design for two bars, a wood dance floor, theater lighting, a fancy Funktion-One sound system, mezzanine lounge, DJ booth, one of the first all-people restrooms in Seattle, and last but not least, four disco balls.
       Q Club was my first project out of school and a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. Working with old buildings is a challenge but also super interesting, as who knows what might be uncovered or discovered as the process unfolds. One unique discovery was a defunct freight elevator buried within the old auto shop office spaces. We took out the elevator and used the old shaft space for a lighting installation—a kind of  "easter egg" moment only visible when climbing the stair to the mezzanine.


Details:
Located on Capitol Hill, Seattle and still rocking


Credits:
Work performed on behalf of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson while under employment. Photography Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA except where marked with = LAMB, the bottom two images by Suzi Pratt. Theatrical lighting design by Steve Lieberman. Construction, Dovetail


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Reach Out
nathan@
lambprojects.com

206 295-8671
Portland, Oregon
Licenses:
Oregon ARI-15588
Washington 12169
Lamb Studio, LLC
EIN. 012345


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