Developer plans Crystal Barn in Meridian: Eat, drink, shop — and surf — all in one place
An indoor wave pool. A speakeasy. An “experimental gastro-hall.” A large exhibition space.
All housed in a unique development in Meridian that the design team is calling a 21st century “version of the Crystal Palace inspired by the vernacular of Idaho.”
The proposed project from High Desert Development, called the Crystal Barn, would be one of the first developments in Orchard Park, the former Linder Village. Orchard Park plans include an 81-acre campus at the corner of Chinden Boulevard and Linder Road with a range of commercial, entertainment, cultural, civic and office spaces.
The 65,000-square-foot Crystal Barn would be made up of two parallel structures, 350 feet long, with pitched roofs and spacious, light-filled interiors, according to EC3 architect Edwin Chan. Its design is inspired by the famed Crystal Palace of Hyde Park, London, built to house the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The buildings will have retail spaces, a “wave-surfing pool,” food and drink options, and an exhibition hall that “cultural institutions, art fairs, digital content producers and other creative enterprises” will be able to use for “shows, sound stages, productions and other temporary uses,” Chan said in a news release.
High Desert Development principals Joe Huarte and Michael John Slavin, both Treasure Valley residents, are leading the project.
“I think the goal for all of us is somebody in Europe would want to come to Idaho and say, ‘Hey, I want to go learn how to surf in the bar,’” Chan told the Idaho Statesman in an interview.
Chan said he will continue to design more Orchard Park spaces. The architect said he wants to pair his design style with Idaho culture. The Crystal Barn is a nod to the Treasure Valley’s rich agricultural history.
“My impression of Idaho is it’s natural landscape,” Chan said. “There’s a lot of farm structures. ... We started to play with the idea of creating this big barn structure on a sort of civic scale, on a cultural scale. Then I was imagining that if you create these barns, (which) are very flexible buildings, just by virtue of them being incredibly flexible, you could then imagine that tenants could be inserted into the barn like an exhibition or like an installation.”
He said he also desires to give people an experience.
“The guiding principle of this is that we’re not designing it as a commercial project, because, as a commerce, we cannot compete with Amazon,” Chan said. “So to make the barn an experience end-to-end and truly enrich the lives of people, you have to think about these kind of developments as cultural projects. So that that’s something that Amazon cannot compete with.”
The Crystal Barn could be one of the first projects in the long-anticipated Orchard Park. Other plans include a Winco Foods and a future Meridian library branch.
By Chan’s own admission, he’s an unusual choice to be the development’s architect. He does not usually design commercial developments. Chan is used to working on buildings in places such as London, Istanbul and Sydney. According to his website, Chan has “extensive experience in delivering arts and cultural buildings.”
His projects often have interesting designs, from the many-layered Fondation Louis Vuitton art museum near Paris to the “audacious configuration” of the “sculpture-like structure” that is the the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain.
So why is Chan working on a mall project in Meridian? It all goes back to weightlifting. Chan and Slavin both worked out at the same gym when Slavin lived in Los Angeles. They bonded after realizing both worked in similar fields and had mutual acquaintances.
Slavin approached Chan about his vision for Meridian, and Chan said he agreed to join the project.
“EC3 brings a global vision to match our local vibe, and we couldn’t be more excited about the direction this project is going,” Slavin said in a news release.
The Crystal Barn buildings have not been approved by the city of Meridian yet. Developers said they hope to begin construction by next summer, with an opening date of fall 2023.
