Butterfly Studio | Valerie Schweitzer Architects
Westport, United States
Photo credit: Tom Leighton / Paul Bartolomeuw
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PROJECT DETAILS:
Built in 2007 by All Phase Construction, Bridgeport, Ct, USA.
Materials: Douglas fir wood framing, steel columns, and beams, low-e-double pane glass, stucco-cladding with trowel-finish, teak wood cladding, new and recycled.
Poured concrete floor with electric (snow-melting) radiant heat; custom windows with aluminum frames both fixed and operable;
custom skylight with aluminum frame.
HVAC: Mitsubishi split-air heating and cooling
Landscape by architect: Colorado blue spruce and azaleas
Zoning limitations for ancillary structure: 350 square feet floor plan; 17 feet max. height to the midpoint of the highest ridge
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Inspired in part by the closing of a butterfly’s wings and other organic forms, this 350 square-foot art studio and private office for a family home in Westport, Connecticut, provides a serene refuge.
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Like shards protruding from the earth, the studio’s angled panels clad in stucco and recycled teak, impart a primitive and futuristic quality at the same time. The structure exploits the potential of glass, wood and steel.
The expansive skylight of steel and thermally-insulated glass eliminates the need for day-lighting, even for an artist. It also creates an airiness despite the confined floor plate. Efficiency is furthered by the sealed poured concrete floor that contains radiant heat piping; one may roll a work desk on wheels throughout the space.