Studio for Two Artists

Westerly, Rhode Island

In Progress

Design Team
Max Worrell, Jejon Yeung, Cohen Hudson, Yunchao Le

Collaborators
Structural Engineer: Structures Workshop

We are currently designing a new studio building for two artists - a painter and a photographer - as part of a 30 acre residential property in Rhode Island. Accessed from the main house via a path through a meadow, the building sits within a clearing between a pond and wooded forest lined with historic stone walls. Formally, the two studios are composed of a pair of identical pitched roof lines articulated by shifting the massing and height that suit the specific needs of the artists. An inside corner where the studios meet conceals a hidden door to access each space.

Internally, the two studios are connected via overlapping shared spaces including storage, utility and a bathroom. Various types of spaces and light conditions are provided for working including drawing, painting, ceramic work, hand sculpting and exhibition. Several large door openings allow each artist to extend their own studio space onto outdoor decks and the varied landscape surrounding the building unique to each of the four sides.

Natural light is maximized through two large vaulted monitors with clerestories that provide diffuse northern light to each studio space.

Drawing on utility buildings and off-the-shelf industrial material palette, the exterior of the studio is clad in a black corrugated metal. Inside, concrete floors and perimeter walls of painted Homasote are juxtaposed against the exposed ceiling wood joists, as well as the shared core which is finished and differentiated with birch plywood with metal grating material for guardrails.