This graduate studio project required programming and design of a new residence for two semi-retired professionals with a vast personal collection of objects, including antique watches, medical instruments, architectural miniatures, sculpture, and books. As members of various international organizations, their travel and research has allowed them to amass this sizeable collection which has taken over their current home. The primary objective of this new home is to improve the display and organization of these objects and allow the couple to open up regions of their home for public viewing of the collection. There is less emphasis on formal programmatic elements, as the couple is more interested in creating 'places of significance.' (ie. place of reading, place of rest, place of gathering, place of contemplation, etc.) The collection may spread throughout the home, but specific regions shall be created for public visitors, while others maintain their privacy and separation.

Shades of Gray:
A Living Collection

I was interested in the juxtaposition between material objects and the intangible experiences which occur surrounding these objects. A continuum from public to private spaces organizes the home into four distinct regions. Each of these contain parts of the collection in an organized and logical way, however the flexibility of the spaces contained in each of the four regions enable users to participate with the objects in space in unique ways. This indeterminacy encourages individual experience and perception to shape how one perceives the collections and inspires them to act accordingly within that space. The resulting home is continually changing as both the users and the contents grow and change over time.