The Hub, also known as Big Chill 30A, is a vibrant, festival-style gathering space reminiscent of 1950’s full-service drive-in theaters—minus the cars. Located along the iconic 30A highway, The Hub links several well-known planned communities. It offers a blend of restaurants, entertainment, and shopping, appealing to both locals and Gulf Coast vacationers.
The master plan for this 3-acre site, developed in collaboration with Lew Oliver and DAG Architects, features a mix of small retail spaces and larger restaurant areas positioned at each corner of the development. An event lawn provides ample seating for outdoor concerts and movies, while the centrally located Pavilion boasts a multipurpose stage and amphitheater, a 25-foot-wide outdoor movie screen, and a screened porch with a fireplace and large-screen TVs.
The architecture adopts the mid-century modern aesthetic that was once prevalent in this region. Concrete masonry units, cypress wood, galvanized steel, and painted brick are the predominant materials, with the palette defined by their naturally occluding colors. These materials are sourced locally and are very low maintenance. Structurally the restaurant and retail buildings have simple wood frame walls and roofing. The stage structure is a combination of load bearing CMU, wood framing, heavy timber, and galvanized steel tension chord trusses on the main stage. Due to the compact nature of the smaller retail and restaurants they can be conditioned with extremely energy-efficient mini-split HVAC units. The anchor restaurant uses an AEON roof top mechanical system. LED lighting provides low operating and long-term maintenance costs. Although the project did not seek LEED certification, the design team made environmental issues an important goal to create a sustainable, energy efficient environment.
