CHAPTER 4, PART 1: THE SITE (DEMOGRAPHICS & CLIMATE)

Map of the Saint Louis Metropolitan area, with the Lemp Brewery site called out

The Lemp Brewery is located at Interstate 55 (I-55) and South Broadway, three miles southwest of Down-town Saint Louis and Eero Saarinen’s Arch landmark.  The brewery complex sits at the convergence of the Soulard, Benton Park, and Marine Villa neighborhoods.  Within a one-mile radius from the brewery, there are three access points that serve both north- and south-I-55, and one and a half miles from the brewery is the interchange of Interstate 44 and I-55.  The gridded street layout generally allows two-way traffic at all segments surrounding the site, making it easy to navigate the neighborhood.  The proximity to the major interstates offer easy access to the site for visitors coming from outside the immediate vicinity.  The streets immediately surrounding the brewery boast a mixture of building uses including residential, industrial, business, mixed use, restaurants and bars, and community services. 

DEMOGRAPHICS       

The adjacent neighborhoods of Soulard and Benton Park offer a variety of restaurants, bars, parks, and activities, and have become a popular choice for young professionals and families to call home.  In contrast, Marine Villa is made up of industrial businesses and lower-income residents.  This juxtaposition merges greatly varied demographic makeups at the site of the brewery complex.  Below, the first image demonstrates the stark differences between the bustling Benton Park and Soulard neighborhoods and the neighborhood of Marine Villa through a comparison of the number of people living in poverty and their ease of access to food sources.  The second image demonstrates that less than half of residents in the surrounding areas have access to a vehicle.  It can be concluded from this information that the residents in the immediate area have trouble getting healthy food at reasonable prices due to having to either walk or take public transportation, options that are not easy when carrying groceries especially during inclement weather. 

Additional demographic topics were analyzed but ultimately were excluded from this thesis as they did not further support or contradict the conclusions reached.  Race, gender, religion, and level of education are expected to have little to no impact on whether or not a person would benefit or enjoy this space.  The intent of this thesis is to create a place where all members of the community are welcome.

Map comparing poverty level to supermarket access (Apted from Sabah, M. 2022)

Map demonstrating access to vehicles in the surrounding neighborhoods (adapted from Missouri Coalition for the Environment., 2022)

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE

The buildings in the surrounding neighborhoods offer architectural diversity yet share many commonalities.  Red Brick is a theme throughout the city of Saint Louis, a result of the successful Hydraulic Brick Company (originally established in 1860 as E.C. & T.W. Sterling).  Hydraulic Brick Company grew to be the largest brick manufacturer in the world, and pioneered new technologies for mass production.  In the 1800s, more than fifty clay mines were active in the city.  The clay from these mines offered a distinct rusty hue, due to the Cheltenham Syncline geological formation.  The brick industry was booming after the Great Fire of 1949, when the city declared that new buildings must be built from stone or brick in order to prevent future fire damage.  All of these factors helped earn the city the nickname “Brick City,” with this unique red brick on display throughout the metropolitan area (Naffziger, C. 2024). 

The three neighborhoods immediately surrounding the brewery complex are Soulard, Benton Park, and Marine Villa.  These neighborhoods contain a vast array of architectural styles and provide great insights into the rich history of the area.  These neighborhoods were melting pots in the 1800’s, drawing immigrants from many European countries such as Germany, the Austrian Empire (now Czechoslovakia), England, Ireland, Italy, and Bosnia.  Along with this diverse population came great diversity in architecture, and helped to characterize these neighborhoods as they are known today.

Soulard, bordering the brewery to the northeast, and is locally well known for its diverse array of architectural ornamentation.  In Saint Louis, Soulard is generally associated with French Second Empire architecture, made popular during the reign of Napoleon III, and similar to that of the French Quarter in New Orleans.  This style can be described as appearing similar to a wedding cake with its decorative façade ornamentation and towering mansards.  This was a popular style in the Northeast and Midwest, and was often a symbol of affluence.  Also present in Soulard are styles of Renaissance Revival, Federal and Transitional Federal, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, and Italianate. 

Bordering the brewery to the North, Benton Park’s architectural style is generally categorized as Georgian, Federal, Transitional Federal, and French Second Empire.  Georgian architecture is characterized by its symmetry, proportions, clean lines, and brick.  The facades are generally simple, and the interiors offer generous space.  In contrast, Second Empire architectural style has much more character. 

Marine Villa, which contains the Lemp Brewery at the very edge of its boundary, has a relatively low occupancy rate in its residential buildings of around 75%, even though it is home to many successful businesses such as Sigma Aldrich, Valvoline Oil, the National Archives and Records Administration, as well as a strip of retail deemed “Cherokee Antique Row” which is a popular shopping destination.  Many local residents believe this is an “up-and-coming” neighborhood and see a lot of potential even with the number of deteriorating or boarded up homes.  Marine Villa shares similar architectural styles with Benton Park and Soulard.

                All three neighborhoods share an additional architectural typology: Flounder Houses.  Flounder houses were popular in the second half of the 19th century, and are often called referred to as “half houses” or “half flounders”.  They are characterized by their asymmetry with one side wall being higher than the other, creating a single-sloped roof.   It is thought that this design was created in order to be built quickly, reduce the number of windows by eliminating them from the taller, often rear wall to reduce taxes on window glass, and to be an inexpensive solution that leaves the option of adding the “second half” of the house later.  The footprint and form of these houses may be the same for the majority of houses categorized as Flounders, but a wide variety of façade finishes and ornamentations were applied at the owner’s direction, making each one unique from the next (Cameron, J., & Bradley, B. H. 2015).

Typical architectural styles in the neighborhoods of Soulard, Benton Park, and Marine Villa

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

This site is located in between urban and industrial areas and contains a great deal of pavement.  This has not prevented a language of urban forestry to be applied, as the surrounding blocks are full of giant old trees and sections of sidewalk landscaping.  Residential buildings often have well-kept gardens in the front and back yards.  The sidewalk landscaping is designed to be easy to care for, with most plantings containing some type of large tree and either mulch or grass.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Saint Louis experiences all four seasons, therefore has a wide range of weather conditions.  There are more sunny days in the summer months, and more cloudy days in the winter. 

Spring and Fall bring more precipitation than Summer and Winter. 

Although the site is in close proximity to the Mississippi River, it lies outside of the floodplain boundary therefore extreme rain events are not of concern to this site.  The Summer months are humid and warm, with average high temperatures of 90 degrees farenheight or higher.  Winters are generally mild with low temperatures below freezing occuring less than twenty five days of most years.  Average annual precipitation is around thirty four inches. The area does receive snow in the Winter, though in an average year the total snowfall is around six inches, and the remaining twenty eight inches would be rain and in some cases hail.  Saint Louis sees thunderstorms on average between forty and fifty days each year.  A few of these storms can be severe, producing strong gusts of wind, hail, and sometimes tornadoes. 

On average, winds are strongest from the south, but do come from all directions at various times of the year.  The figure below demonstrates the typical yearly averages for this site. 

Wind rose depicting average wind patterns by number of hours per year per speed.  (Adapted from Meteoblue.com)

Due to the Malt Kiln’s position on the site and relationship to the adjacent buildings on the complex, it is unprotected from southern wind gusts on its southwest corner.  It has also suffered damage on its north side due to wind gusts.  This history of wind damage should be considered when designing the structure of the building.  Although there is a history of damaging winds, the occurrences are infrequent.  The graphic below, simulated in Forma, demonstrates that winds around the complex are generally comfortable.

Wind study demonstrating wind comfort levels surrounding the site, views from north and south ends of the complex.  Created with Forma.

The Malt Kiln is oriented on an East-West axis, causing the building to receive the most sunlight on its south side for the majority of the year.  The west end of the building receives ample sunlight as well, but the east end is protected from the sun’s rays by other buildings in the complex.  The first graphic below is a simulation of sunlight hours throughout the year, created with Forma.  The second, compiled from SunCalc.org, shows the calculated sun angles at different points in the year.

Solar study demonstrating average hours per day of sunlight at the peak of each season, viewing from the north and south ends of the complex.  Study created with Forma.

Sun angle simulation, created with SunCalc.org