Adaptive Reuse, Bar
Five Points Lane
CLIENT
Orchestra Partners
ARCHITECT
Kyle Dagostino
LOCATION
1024 20th St. S.

Founded among a collection of historic buildings, Five Points Lane reinvents the legacy of Birmingham’s South Side entertainment district. As a unique urban experience that utilizes an existing alley, revelers discover an outdoor bar forged from repurposed shipping containers.

The reimagined space is located in the recovered area where the outsides of three existing buildings naturally form the exposed brick walls surrounding a courtyard. Shipping containers were anchored to the buildings to creatively enclose the space between buildings. 

John Boone is a principal at Orchestra Partners, which owns the 10,000-square foot Five Points Lane property. In the heart of Five Points South, the space is a vibrant outdoor market environment that has been integral in making the district a nightlife attraction once again.
John Boone
Upon seeing a bar fail and a venue go carelessly neglected in the heart of Southside, John Boone and Henry Costa, Director of Experiences at Orchestra-Partners, made it their mission to bring arts and entertainment back to Southside. Knowing how much potential Five Points Lane possessed, the team set out to prove that the property’s alley and a courtyard offered something that no other venue in Five Points could match. Working alongside Shelby Company, the partners overcame structural and design challenges within the limited space to do their part in returning the district to the premier social hub it once was.
“Matt Shelby and his team kept all our options open. Their approach is the closest thing you will find to a design and build outfit in this town.”
John Boone
Images by : Nicola
“The vision from the beginning was to give 
people a unique experience 
in Birmingham that feels nothing like Birmingham.”
The Solution
A beautiful marriage between form and function, the Five Points Lane project has given new life to a hidden space in Southside that was created 40 years ago. A dedicated collaboration between project managers, estimators, architects, designers and city officials has transformed an overlooked alley into a welcoming invitation that leads guests to a different kind of bar experience. Maximizing the performance of the space, the team was able to repurpose shipping containers and attach them to the exposed brick walls of adjacent buildings. Once plumbing and brick finishing work was completed, and the space was fully enclosed, the designers crafted bespoke furniture to create a truly unique courtyard lounge experience that rivals any outdoor social establishment in the city.

“Through the sharing of opinions and ideas, Matt’s desire to deliver on the 
design intent never wavered.”
Kyle Dagostino, Architect

Images by : Nicola