Springs Arts Studio
LOCATION: Springs, NY
CLIENT: Private Client
SIZE: 600 SF
YEAR: 2022
ENERGY PERFORMANCE: Designed to Passive House certification standards
PHOTOGRAPHY: John Hesselbarth, Kate Foster

The hamlet of Springs, NY is an historic Long Island community of fishermen, widely known as an artists’ enclave for its legacy of abstract expressionist painters Lee Krasner, Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning.   The neighborhood blocks are thickly settled amid broad forests, with modest homes that often have yard space for an auxiliary building.

The concept for the Art Studio evolved in collaboration with an artist client who wanted a contemplative space to paint and display her work. The simple 600 square foot building seeks to capture and control volumes of light that move through skylights and large corner openings, complementing the painter’s urban and rural landscapes. The structure is a minimal touch on the ground, with the building supported by posts rather than foundation walls.

Designed to passive house standards for year-round use, the studio has highly insulated walls and roof, a wood stove, and mini-split heat pumps.