Austin, Texas, is a town that famously prizes creativity and innovation — but also takes its heritage seriously. So when Jared Haas of un.box studio was hired to reimagine a 19th-century building as the Native Hostel, a multifunctional hostel, music venue, and bar, his challenge was to unify tradition and nonconformity, past and present.
"The fact that this building was originally built in the 1890s, and added on in the 1940s, was incredibly important," Haas recalls, which was true for the team, and the locals.
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Working alongside Joel Mozersky Design and Icon Design+Build, Haas created a "dark and stormy" theme that balances period architecture and vintage pieces with of-the-moment elements and custom-made furnishings.
"By merging all periods and styles, we feel that we have created something that is timeless," Has says.
The team also never lost sight of the functional priorities of the space. "Music, art, food, libations, and social activity were always the primary drivers," Haas adds. The result — coherent, eclectic, historically grounded yet progressive — is, well, a lot like the city itself.
