This project reimagines a site in Springs, East Hampton, into an art center honoring Philip Pavia and Natalie Edgar. Inspired by site visits and the region’s legacy of Abstract Expressionism, the design reflects on how artists live, create, and exhibit. Responding to both flood risk and the poetic nature of discovery on-site, I developed a raised, low-tech structural system influenced by my experience living in a student-built shelter at Taliesin West.
The proposal preserves the main house and introduces three new buildings: a public workshop, a central display and storage facility, and an art residency. Each is organized in modular 15-foot bays to streamline construction and raised to create shaded outdoor spaces below. Indirect north light is carefully brought in through angled walls, enhancing both the display quality and the lived experience. Balancing privacy and community, the layout promotes interaction while remaining rooted in vernacular simplicity and environmental resilience.
