Studio and Gallery for a Sculptor

Clarkdale, AZ
2017-2018



Commission for a studio and gallery space for a sculptor in Arizona. The client’s sense of weight, lightness, and secrecy in her work complements the vast surrounding landscape defined by stone and weightless horizons. The first proposal was to add this addition to the top of an existing garage. Studies of possible profiles, developed through deep explorations of endemic materiality and subtle horizons inspired to encase a clandestine interior, led to the realization that the proportions created through this architecture did not suit the idiosyncratic local terrain.

Instead we moved the gallery to a thin piece of land behind the garage and continued developing a subtle profile that contained a clean interior with specific moments of contrast through exposure to the wild cacti, sagebrush, mountains, and sky in all directions. This location allowed the creation of a courtyard where infant planting would develop into a connective tissue between all architectural elements on site. An apartment is designed as a perch integrated into the gallery architecture as an additional income generator for the client.