Carlton Art Studio
Designed for a NYC born artist, gallery owner, and activist living in the wine country of Oregon, this project responded to the client’s desire to finally move her art studio out of the house – to give the work it’s own dignity, honor, and place. The 100-acre property is vast and includes a varied landscape of forests, wetlands, and meadows.
The new journey from her Arts and Crafts home serves to suspend home responsibilities, as one transitions from domestic life to the modern creative workspace. The building’s placement is set apart from the house, hovering in a field above the grasses and marsh landscape. A new exterior threshold is formed between the studio and an early 20th century barn. The artist’s work and love of nature inspired the studio to have a completely different experiential quality than any other buildings on the site – with the longest site view and the greatest artistic perspective.
The simple exterior is clad in naturally weathered corten steel panels. Large openings carved into the exterior metal shell reveal a light interior composed of wood, hard stucco, soft white fabric walls for the display of ever-changing work. Locally sourced hemlock ceilings and oak floors create warmth and texture. A custom central worktable aligns with the skylight above and provides focus for the work at hand. With a Marie Kondo eye, we crafted an ultimate storage space, organized around how we use the things of daily life for short, intermediate, and long-term needs. The result is an environment stripped down to the essentials of what is truly needed to inspire and create.
