RISD Artist Housing + Nature Lab

Each year, two important events contribute to the unique and dynamic culture of RISD education:

1. Visiting artists from each department join RISD to share their insights and work, allowing aspiring artists and designers can get a glimpse of their future and guidance on how to acheive the same successes.

2. First year students join a common core curriculum where they utilize RISD’s Nature Lab, a collection of natural specimens, to learn from nature.

My project is driven by the decision to split the program, which asked to provide living and studio space for the resident artists; as well as, provide a new Nature Lab center for students. I decided to give each artist separate space to live and work. The split is expressed in the main facade, providing artists with north facing studios. The studios and apartments are connected by gallery space on each floor, giving artists a chance to show their work. The massing and form of the project is inspired by the local architecture. The buildings around RISD campus have many details but are all made of basic geometric building blocks. My project aims to find these fundamental forms and use them to create my building. Stripped of decoration, this reduction will also put a greater significance on the materials used to construct the building. This building will let the artwork of students and artists shine, as it is not trying to compete with the artist but instead encouraging the artists to refine their work and think about the fundamentals of their artworks.