Hopewell Brewing Company [55d500e5498eeaf83ea0842a/41.93124/-87.71146]

Address: 2760 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, USA

Phone: +1 773-698-6178

Designer Info: RANGE Design & Architecture

Link Website: http://rangedesign.com

Description: 

Hopewell Brewing Company is a start-up brewery & tasting room located within a landmark building along a commercial corridor in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago. The design encompasses the entirety of the brewery, considering process and logistical aspects of beer production alongside the desire for a distinct tasting room in the rapidly growing craft beer industry. This holistic approach gave rise to a space that expresses the qualities the Hopewell team aspires to achieve in their beer - light, clean and modern.

The brewery occupies the first floor of a former Goldblatt’s department store. Built in the early 20th century, the building is comprised of a heavy concrete structure which frames a large open plan at the basement and first floor levels with two floors of apartments above. The design utilizes this existing structure and general configuration as an underlying organizational tool. First, the program is arranged in a sequence of the public to private as one moves from street to alley: tasting room, brewery operations, storage, and distribution. Second, heavy loads are positioned within clearly defined structural bays, helping to minimize significant reinforcing required at the basement level. Lastly, through various geometrical & material relationships, a dialogue is established between old and new elements. The resulting architecture celebrates aspects of the original building with new, modern elements.

This strategy is evident at the tasting room where a variety of relationships are set between walls, bar, lighting, and furniture. A pattern of light, white oak walls provide a sense of warmth and an intermediate scale between the building and visitors. The horizontal datum of the wood walls is reinforced in the lighting layout, where a subtle variation in fixtures floats above different types of seating. Existing walls, a concrete floor and Heath Ceramic tile wrapping the bar add texture to space while the furniture reinforces the overall aesthetic, including a bar stool designed by RANGE specifically for the project. Together, all of the elements are composed so as to define an atmosphere specific to the Hopewell brand.