Clayton Korte: Located in a highly developed part of East Austin, two warehouse buildings long abandoned are now a thriving morning-to-night restaurant and bar. The buildings were constructed in the early 1900s and used by Texas Company, or Texaco, to hold petroleum products delivered by railcars and dispensed in trucks throughout Austin. Today, they are the second location of a city favorite: Cosmic Coffee & Beer. As a rare remnant of the industrial past of the area, it is a spot full of history and graffiti added over the course of the last century.
Cosmic is a landscape-focused hospitality space where city-dwellers and visitors alike can connect with friends and community in a laid-back atmosphere surrounded by nature and art. Following its ethos of sustainability, the project breathes new life into the two front-gabled warehouses and activates the spaces in between as seating areas and gardens. Upon entering the complex, signatures of the Cosmic brand come into focus: water features, fig ivy climbing steel trellises, and custom signage. The two buildings required stabilization prior to the renovation and have been entirely transformed. The west building houses a coffee and spirit bar with a lounge area, while the east building introduces a new taqueria. Nestled between the buildings is the garden; it is the heart of the property with a covered deck and open patio with ample seating, as well as a koi pond immersed in a dense vegetation. At night, the curved form of the deck and string lighting evoke starry elements of Cosmic brand. A stairway at the entry leads to a second-level bar for private events and more intimate setting.
The historic warehouse buildings retain their corrugated steel siding, wood-framed windows, and metal roofing. Additional materials throughout the site are durable and honest, meant to weather and patina with time. A feature architectural element of the complex is a new 30-foot tower providing access to the second-level balcony. Surrounded by steel mesh, the tower is activated in the evening and nighttime hours, showcasing a custom mural. To blend the historic and new fabric more seamlessly, our design team collaborated with local graffiti artist Miles Starkey who introduced new graffiti and murals on strategic building elements including an awning, the tower, and a new wall marking the edge of the outdoor patio. In 2023, Cosmic invited numerous artists to celebrate the life of local artist Daniel Jonston by painting the street-facing fences along the entire property. This colorful, organic, and gritty character carries through the entire property.
ABOUT CLAYTON KORTE:
Clayton Korte creates places that celebrate their environment and exalt the human experience at the intersection of architecture, authenticity, and craft. What began as a small architecture practice in 1983 has evolved into a firm today that includes interior design and brand services with offices in Austin and San Antonio. Though their Texas architecture roots run deep, work on winery, ranch, hospitality, and residential projects have taken Clayton Korte to California, Colorado, Hawaii, and beyond.
