Rigidized Metals is celebrating its 75th birthday. In preparation for the milestone, the company is planning a private birthday bash for family and friends, at Silo City, next door to its metal fabrication plant. Instead of hosting the celebration at one of the silos, the Rigidized crew decided that it would be the perfect time to unveil its newly remodeled transfer station. The historic station has been retrofitted to house a work space/design space that will second as a gallery showroom for Rigidized products.
With the addition of glass doors, and probably some sort of artistic metal screen to protect the glass from the elements (to come), the inside and the outside of the station will be a mix of state of the art design products, juxtaposed against an industrial concrete, speed tile and brick backdrop. Already the result is beautiful in its appearance, even though the building and grounds are not yet complete.
The Ohio Street bike trail leads right to the transfer station, which will, at some point, most likely incorporate some sort of accessible landing to the building. From there, the trail will lead into Silo City through a series of berms and plantings. At this point, some landscaping measures are underway, and eventually there will be more of an artfully manicured setting surrounding the transfer station.
I first wrote about some of the formulations regarding this project back in 2012 (see here for more background). Essentially, this building will act as a welcoming spot for visitors to Silo City. It will also be utilized as a utilitarian gallery for prospective Rigidized clients looking to check out practical applications, fastening systems, etc., as they pertain to the company’s products.
The reuse of this building shows the dedication that Rigidized owner, Rick Smith, has to Silo City. He could have easily incorporated the design showroom into his production plant. Instead he decided that it would be best to salvage a historic element of the property, that just so happens to be located along Ohio Street. And now that Ohio Street is a major connector between the Inner and the Outer Harbors, there could not have been a better time than now, to jumpstart this project.
