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renovation | Métier tapped dBoone Construction to build its café kitchen and strip out the old plywood flooring. To remove old paint, architect Jeff Babienko had the entire interior soda-blasted—a process similar to sandblasting but gentler on wood. Stairs with woven wiremesh railings, fabricated by Westeel Company, connect the three levels, which include multiple training areas.
fast lane With a hop across town and a brand-new name, elite Seattle racing team Métier opens a sleek multipurpose space on Capitol Hill’s old Auto Row. Written by RACHEL GALLAHER : Photographed by ALEX HAYDEN
LAST YEAR, when seven-year-old Seattle bike shop and
racing team Herriott Sports Performance decided it was time for a refresh, it started from the frame out. Not only did it don a new name (Métier), logo, and club colors, but in November 2015 the team and headquarters relocated as well—from two small bays in a commercial strip mall in Fremont to a cavernous former auto parts shop in Capitol Hill. “The move gave the club an opportunity to increase its exposure and spread its brand and lifestyle to a new clientele,” explains architect Jeff Babienko, lead designer on the project. The three-story, 10,500-square-foot building, now dubbed Métier: Racing & Coffee, is the perfect venue for the club’s blossoming enterprises, which include a bike sales and repair shop, a café, a fitness studio, and a subterranean training facility. Tall ceilings, off-white walls, and materials such as wood and steel repeat throughout the building, lending cohesion to the diverse spaces and emphasizing the club’s bright merchandise and gear. Despite the industrial aesthetic, the vibe is welcoming, even to those who aren’t bike-obsessed. That’s by design: “Our space is for anyone who enjoys really good food and drink,” says Métier co-owner Todd Herriott. “Anyone who likes to exercise and appreciates clean locker rooms and showers. Anyone who enjoys great architecture. And if you’re a cyclist, you probably won’t want to leave.” h
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