Number Nine expands the boundaries of interior design for higher education as it transforms an aged commercial strip center into the stylish and functional flagship for a university fashion program. Once used as miscellaneous retail storefronts prior to its adaptive reuse, the building had most recently been leased by the City of Savannah as community space and offices. The design team worked within the existing building footprint to create a modern, energy efficient, functional learning environment, including a state-of-the-art fabric printing lab. The interior design infuses technology into a new academic building parti along with modern details that recall the original commercial retail aesthetic. Before-and-after photos show a stunning conversion from a dark, uninviting space with a drab and depressing exterior, to a bright, open, and sophisticated outlet for engaged teaching and learning.
Originally built as a retail store in 1930 and expanded in the 1960s with an attached structure, the buildings were in poor structural condition when the university acquired the block in 2018.
