The Winston-Salem Factory Lofts & and Surrounding DistrictA Community Renovation ProjectBy: Ashley, Bridger and Nick

Mapping Project Introduction:• For our project, we decided to focus on an area around the

Winston-Salem Factory Lofts. The area surrounding the expensive and trendy residential hot spot is perfect for renovation because it is extremely run down. We would like to update the area with chic businesses and restaurants, which are very appropriate surrounding the Lofts.

A Little History about the WS Lofts…• The Winston Factory Lofts building was originally part of a three-building complex that

housed the operations of the P. H. Hanes Company from 1916 until 1951.• The first of the three buildings, then located at the northwest corner of Main and Sixth

streets, was built in 1916. It was thought to be “the finest structure for the manufacture of knit goods in the entire South”

• Our building is six-stories and 135,000-square-foot. It is one of the most architecturally refined industrial buildings in Winston-Salem, displaying Beaux-Arts style details unusual among the City’s industrial architecture.

• The third and final building in the complex was built in 1928 at 101 E. Sixth Street. That building will become Phase 2 of Winston Factory Lofts, now scheduled for occupancy in the summer of 2013.

• The P.H. Hanes Company was a major part of the history of Winston Salem and the operations and growth of Hanes Knitting fit into the overall expansion of Winston-Salem’s industrial economy.

• After Hanes Knitting moved its operations in 1951, the building was subsequently used by the Brown-Rogers-Dixson Company for warehousing and distribution of appliances throughout the southeast. The building was acquired by Clachan Properties, LLC in 2006.

• The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated by the City of Winston Salem as an Historic Landmark.

Winston-Salem Factory Lofts, then

Winston-Salem Factory Lofts Today

Our ideas correlate well with…

• COMMUNITY MAPPING: 6th Street “Upgrade”• Pg. 111• Used various community mapping tools, such as Google maps

and others provided by WS Factory Lofts webpage.• Drawing out a physical representation of updates that we would

like to see in the area.• “Visualizing the physical situation” allowed us to plan

improvements.• Mapping was important to us because they are detailed and

accurate. There is so much to be done in this area that we needed something that was all encompassing.

• The most urgent updates that we identified were restaurants and increasing business in general. There are a lot of unoccupied buildings and parking lots – just filling up space.

Current Businesses Nearby:

6th and Vine209 West Sixth StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101www.6thandvine.com

Chelsee’s Coffee 533 Trade StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101www.chelseescoffee.com

Sweet Potatoes529 North Trade StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101Link

Finnigan’s Wake Pub 620 North Trade StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101www.finniganswake.net

Breakfast Of Course723 Trade StreetWinston-Salem, NC 27101www.breakfastofcourse.com

District Bar and Grille770 Liberty View CourtWinston-Salem, NC 27101www.districtbarandgrille.com

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

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Murals and Graffiti before Our Renovation

Area 1: Directly in front of the WS Lofts

• Keep the parking lot – the residents need it at WS Lofts, especially since it is expanding in size.

• pg. 141 - leave an urban environment, but make the distant view appeasing. It meshes with the high rise views, murals, and urban ambiance already going on there.

• Because this district is technically the “arts district”, we will update the graffiti into murals, keeping the artistic flair. To do this, we will survey the local residents and businesses to see what kind of visuals they would like to see.

• We would also like to add more artistic style to the area to compliment the murals, such as unique décor.

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Area 2: Behind the Lofts

Train tracks directly behind The view from behind the building

Area 2 - Behind the WS Lofts: Ideas• The train tracks lead right to the core of

WS downtown businesses (Cherry st, 4th street district). Our idea is to revolutionize these train tracks into a modernized downtown shuttle system.

• Similar to the system in Charlotte, we would like to encourage more people to see this side of town.

• Named the Salem, the train will be is the Winston-Salem region's first light rail service. It will operate from the 6th street area to 4th street, and finally in the West End area. With 5 stations it will provide a congestion free commute with a consistent travel time. Salem will operate seven days a week. Weekday service operates from 5:00 a.m. to 12 a.m. and service is available every 10 minutes during weekday rush hours. It will also offer weekend service, with hours from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.

From this…

To this…

Area 2: Continued

• Close to the shuttle stop, we will have an American cuisine bar and restaurant, that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night. The shuttle stop will make it a popular spot.

• It will increase appeal to the WS Factory Lofts

• We envision it looking something like this…

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Area 3: Authentic Restaurant Experience

• Complemented by next-door brick buildings

• To be turned into low-cost pizzerias, delies or coffee shops

• Provides an additional choice to the areas upscale dining options

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• Saudi Arabian Type Building

• NEW Restaurant and bar made from unique structure.

• Adds another cultural angle to the area.

Ecology as Economy (pg. 90)• Ecologically beneficial structure: the dumpster pool park

idea. It is a service that is ecological.

Area 3 Continued: Supplementing a Park

• A quaint park currently inhabits about half of this zone.• The other half will feature new restaurants as mentioned.• We plan to add a creative pool venue for park goers…

• Pools made out of large construction dumpsters would provide an ecological and exciting addition to the area

• Innovative while thrifty, such pools would be practical for families while remaining consistent with the urban-artistic approach that our region of the city prides itself on.

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Area 4: Making Groceries a Convenience

• We have decided that a supermarket venue would be the central focus in Zone 4. Given that it is the arts district with a middle to upper class status, and a young professional population, we believe that a Whole Foods would do incredibly well in this spot.

• Leaving half of the zone as normal parking would provide convenience for shoppers

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Area 5: Solving the Parking Problem and Giving People Their Socks• Our final area is a large parking lot that separates the art and large

corporation districts.• Businesses south of the lot include BB&T Bank, Reynolds American

Inc., among others.• We propose to build a 2-3 story parking garage in this area.

• Far enough out of sight to ruin the view for Loft residents• Alleviates lack of parking issue after north lots are converted by our

updates• Commuting businessmen can park in the deck while those living in the

Lofts can use our new trainIf residents are uncomfortable with a potential eyesore, we would simply leave it as a normal lot.

• Invite a Wal-mart or other department store that would provide essentials to daily life• Prevent the current problem of having to drive all the way out to

Hanes Mall to get necessities Back

Area 5 Continued: Give the People Socks• Invite a Walmart or other department store that would

provide essentials to daily li

The Interviews

Apartment owner• Looking for more

residences and businesses nearby

• Wishes his great view wasn’t marred by parking lots and rundown buildings

• More affordable cuisine to complement the upscale restaurants

• Grocery store• Boutiques

Car Repair Man• More affordable cuisine to

complement the upscale restaurants

• Grocery store and department store so residents can have essentials at their fingertips

• Less expensive housing built in, Lofts only target one demographic: the businessmen

• More boutiques and attractiveness to bring back those who left for the suburbs

Interviews Continued

• Bartender (District Pub & Grille)• Looking for more convenient

public transportation options at night to better serve customers

• Opening more shops closer to the Lofts in hopes of bringing in more daytime customers

• Renovate eyesores of empty buildings to provide better view for customers on the rooftop venue

Construction Worker• Wishes for more “common-

man” shopping venues• Seeking delis, pizza places,

ma-and-pa coffee shops• More shopping that doesn’t

necessarily tailor only to the fine arts

Our Group Creativity:

Inspiration

Brainstorm individually with

Little C’s

Combine unique perspectives

(collaboration)

Use outside information (i.e.

interviews) to revise plan

Brainstorm individually with new

information

Collaborate to decide which idea is

strongest

Simplify ideas so that all can understand

FINAL PRODUCT

Group Creativity

Before Interviews• Lots of collaboration and

brainstorming, as each of us threw out observations and possible ideas

• Inspiration came from the quirks and charms of the area• Murals• Industrial factory buildings being

used as Lofts• Ample parking lots and a few parks

• Lots of little c’s• Combinations of our different

perspective strengths• Ashley and her familiarity with the

area and its people• Nick with previous projects• Bridger with the political perspective

After Interviews• More problem finding• Using our people’s answers to

identify which structures in our neighborhood could meet their needs

• Still open-minded creativity, as we included the Smith text’s ideas, but certainly more focused on providing answers to problems

• Less collaborative as each member retreated to his/her desk and refined our own particular solutions

• Used technology (email, cellphone photos) to communicate our ideas and craft together a final, nearly-finished plan

Group Creativity• Preparing for Presentation• Returned to our original close

collaboration• Discussed what were our best

ideas• Proceeded to coordinate them

into a more coherent, effective outline

• Aligns very much with Sawyer’s Verification Stage

The two Lofts and the parking lot across the street we plan to revamp

Train tracks, park and parking lot that we would renovate