ARTIST STUDIO AND RETAIL GALLERY

Adaptive Reuse of a Quonset Hut for BSK Design

Project At a Glance

Client:
BSK Design & Chroma Studios
Location:
Guilford, CT
Program:
Artists' Co-working Studio and Retail Gallery
Project Team:

General Contractor: Anderson Wilcox Builders

Photographer: David Ottenstein Photography, Pirie Associates

Awards & Publications:
2009 AIA Connecticut Business Architecture Award

carbon drawdown

 

 

PROJECT DETAILS

This project is an adaptive reuse of the historic Quonset in Guilford, CT to house a collaborative working studio and retail art gallery.


The client’s goals for the project :
▪ Create a collaborative environment where artists and clients can work together and share in the energy of the creative process
▪ Craft a space that has an urban, loft-like feel, with references to the De Stijl movement in art and architecture.

The architectural solution:
▪ Uses the curved form of the Quonset hut in a compositional dialogue with the installation-like display planes, which also act as an economic solution for the structure of the loft
▪ Uses color and shape to focus physical and visual movement in the space and provide a variety of backgrounds to enhance the display of the artwork
▪ Allows for future growth and addition of other artists through a kit-of-parts strategy for the fixtures and furnishings.