When architects David Yocum and Brian Bell first saw their future office eight years ago, they were not yet business partners, and the building was a ruin.

The automobile parts repair shop was a hulk of cinder block and rusting metal. The roof had fallen in, windows were welded shut. The warehouse behind it was a windowless box. Even at a sale price of $40,000, the West End property did not seem much of a bargain.

LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC (ENLARGE)

Removal of years of accumulated debris revealed a courtyard on the Villa de Murph site. David Yocum transformed the warehouse behind the repair shop into a live/work space. 'We love restrictions and constraints,' Yocum says.

LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC (ENLARGE)

Brian Bell (left) and David Yocum turned a run-down auto parts repair shop on Murphy Avenue in the West End into Villa de Murph, home of their 2-year-old firm, BLDGS.

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Nevertheless, Yocum bought it. Next, he spent eight months of his free time in demolition mode, removing years of accumulated debris. Voila — a courtyard!

Yocum then transformed the warehouse behind it into a live/work domain. The plan is simple yet creative in its economical use of space and surprise details, like the bathroom floor made of river rocks. The new glass wall facing the courtyard and the skylights punched in the roof bathe the once windowless structure in light.

The project, dubbed Villa de Murph, is now the home of BLDGS, Yocum and Bell's 2-year-old firm. Villa de Murph won a national Small Projects Award from the American Institute of Architects in 2007 and will receive an award Tuesday night for adaptive use from Atlanta's Urban Design Commission, a city advisory board on architectural design and historic preservation.

"I think it's one of the most exciting pieces of architecture I've seen in Atlanta," says designer Pamola Powell, a member of the Urban Design Commission's board. "It's fresh and creative. They took a dilapidated eyesore and turned it into a little jewel."

Villa de Murph was a labor of love. And restraint. Yocum describes the creation of the courtyard as a process of taking things out. In their book, the architects say, less is better.

"We want to make visitors aware of what's there," Yocum says.

In this case, it's the memory of the past embodied in the rusting roof joists overhead, old brick columns and battered walls.

Yocum, 38, and Bell, 41, have been friends since they met while attending Harvard's Graduate School of Design. Atlanta architect Mack Scogin, who was chairman of the school's architecture department when they were there, recruited them for the firm he runs with Merrill Elam.

The pair say they admire their mentors' adventurousness, creativity and tenacity in realizing their vision. And like Scogin and Elam, Bell and Yocum thrive on challenges, both in new construction and in renovations like Villa de Murph.

"We love restrictions and constraints," Yocum says. "They give you room for invention, something to work against."

Especially exciting as a new firm, says Bell, "is the challenge of finding your own path."

TOP PROJECTS

Atlanta's Urban Design Commission will honor these projects at its annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony on Tuesday, starting at

6:30 p.m. in the Park Pavilion of Hilton Garden Inn, 275 Baker St., Atlanta. The public is welcome.

Adaptive Use

• Villa de Murph by BLDGS Inc. 786 Murphy Ave.

• The Spotted Dog, a fire station-turned-pub, by Lord Aeck & Sargent. 30 North Ave.

• The Depot, a train depot-turned-restaurant, by Peace Design Inc. 904 Memorial Drive S.E.

Historic Preservation

• The Ellis Hotel by Stevens & Wilkinson Stang & Newdow Inc. 176 Peachtree St.

• Rockefeller Hall at Spelman College by Menefee + Winer Architects. 350 Spelman Lane.

Public Art

• "Power Wrap," an art installation hiding a power station, by Amy Landesberg Architects. 645 Northside Drive.

New Construction

• Tribute Lofts by Surber Barber Choate & Hertlein Architects, P.C. 480 J.W. Dobbs Ave.

Jenny Thurston Award (For outstanding preservation professional)

• Lain Shakespeare, executive director of the Wren's Nest.