SEAN NEWPORT
San Francisco based artist and designer.
Engine Works was founded in 2010 by a group of friends looking for a large space to make, create and support the arts. The first two years were spent rebuilding everything. One big construction zone. Pallets being sledged apart for hours, chop saws and shop vacuums running nonstop, and all of us tip toeing across the floors hoping to not step on a nail. The photos below represent the process of rebuilding Engine Works with resources found on the streets of San Francisco along with help from Building Resources. Everyone involved with Engine Works has dedicated much of their time and energy into building a space not only for ourselves but for our friends.
Countless excursions throughout the streets of SF in search of the best pallets for this wall. Once collected they had to be strategically dismembered without breaking the boards and removing the nails. Tedious and time consuming to say the least.
LED lights peak through the cracks of the pallets. This aesthetic became a staple in most of our work here.
I found a pile of lath in the parking lot of the new restaurant Commonwealth. They were more than happy to have me haul it away.
Before
Before
Before
I ripped down all the drywall on the ceiling to open up the space more.
Finally finished with the drywall demo!
Once the drywall had been removed from the ceiling we discovered the beautiful cross beams. They had been painted multiple times over the years. We used angle grinders to tear through the layers of paint and expose the raw wood.