This former schoolhouse in western New Jersey became the workshop, gallery, and residence for an abstract expressionist sculptor who left the city in search of larger spaces to produce his work. While a resident of this rural area, he invented and built a homemade windmill to power the building, and, through large format photography, documented the juxtaposition of vast farmland and industrial sites in the area.
The artist, a native of Washington state who spent his early years as a logger, was fascinated with the interface of nature and industry. Many of his works were made of wood and obsessively indexed the origin of each figment of tree that became a part of his sculptures. His appreciation of both nature and the raw material products of industry inspired our proposal for the renovation and expansion of his schoolhouse.
We converted the schoolhouse into a gallery and artist-in-residence workshop. We carved a volumetric void through the center of the building and interlocked a new T-shaped addition, composed of extruded glass channels and hemmed aluminum, and sawtooth roof. The addition creates a public entry at the front of the building, and the cantilevered portion extending from the back of the building expands the gallery space. The new sawtooth roof is set to true north, 27 degrees from the building’s main axis, introducing a diagonal current of light through the building. On the lower floor, the artist’s workshop and library open onto the exterior sculpture terrace. On the upper levels, a new central stair joins the two wings of gallery space.
The artist, a native of Washington state who spent his early years as a logger, was fascinated with the interface of nature and industry. Many of his works were made of wood and obsessively indexed the origin of each figment of tree that became a part of his sculptures. His appreciation of both nature and the raw material products of industry inspired our proposal for the renovation and expansion of his schoolhouse.
We converted the schoolhouse into a gallery and artist-in-residence workshop. We carved a volumetric void through the center of the building and interlocked a new T-shaped addition, composed of extruded glass channels and hemmed aluminum, and sawtooth roof. The addition creates a public entry at the front of the building, and the cantilevered portion extending from the back of the building expands the gallery space. The new sawtooth roof is set to true north, 27 degrees from the building’s main axis, introducing a diagonal current of light through the building. On the lower floor, the artist’s workshop and library open onto the exterior sculpture terrace. On the upper levels, a new central stair joins the two wings of gallery space.