A Charming Artist’s Studio Reflects The Beautiful Desert Landscape Around It

The desert landscape can be quite mesmerizing, especially in regions like Paradise Valley, in Arizona. This is actually where this beautiful artist’s studio that we’re about to take a look at is located. It was built here as an addition to an existing residence by Chen + Suchart Studio with a desire for it to stand out from the house and to have its own style and personality. It occupies a little section of the courtyard, helping to provide a backdrop for it and to frame a nice fire pit seating area that was already out here.

The whole studio was raised off the ground and appears to be floating

The reflective glazing puts a wonderful emphasis on the beautiful desert landscape that surrounds the studio

The back of the studio is mostly clad in weathering steel panels which help it blend in with the surroundings

This is a project that shows great respect for the landscape, so much so that the entire structure was actually built on a series of 6 concrete foundation pillars. In only touches the ground in these 6 points which makes it look as if it’s floating above the ground and allows the land below it to be perfectly preserved. The exterior cladding of this new studio is a combination of two quite distinct materials: weathering steel and reflective insulated glazing. This material palette allows it to stand out from the main house and also suits the desert backdrop really well. The glazing provides maximum heat rejection but at the same time it allows the studio to reflect the beautiful landscape around it.

The Glass walls bring in lots of natural light which is very important for such a space

The area inside features a very simple concrete floor and a well lit white ceiling

The studio was placed at the edge of the site, creating a nice backdrop for the existing courtyard

The weathering steel and reflective glass were chosen both for their unique looks and practical applications

The studio enjoys nice views of the existing courtyard as well as the Camelback Mountain

The interior has some really cool characteristics as well. At first sight this is mostly just a big open space. However, there’s more to it than that. Three large movable partitions allow the space to be configured in various different ways while also providing more surfaces to hang artwork from. That way this can serve as both a working artist’s studio and as a display galley space. The simplicity and flexibility of the design suit this space perfectly.