The Two

The Two is the adaptive reuse of a utilitarian midcentury printshop that, after multiple uses over the years, served as Barrett Studio Architect’s workplace for 20 years. The decision to evolve this building into two side-by-side residences was inspired by Architect/Owner David Barrett and his wife’s recent trip to Morocco and southern Spain. The idea of living in community (downtown Boulder, CO) while retaining the quiet and privacy of the riad, or garden, was the inspiration of this modern western interpretation of a dar, or residence.

The ground floor living level retains the original midcentury bones in the form of steel columns, I-beams and bar joists, as well as the tongue and groove wood ceiling. Central to the Moroccan typology is a lifted ceiling over the living space that brings in copious daylight into the 15′ high clerestory windows. Much like the animated world of the rooftops of the medinas of Morocco, the elevated under-arbor outdoor living and dining space joins living in town and contact with nature.

The raked concrete block base was retained for its value to the neighborhood as an ongoing canvas for mural art. Currently the work of Rye Quartz (San Francisco) is featured alley-side.