As night falls, a building appears to be lightly perched on a heavy base, floating and glowing in the trees.

Courtesy of Nick Waldman

Architects: Nick Waldman Studio

Location: West Tisbury, MA, United States

Area: 880.0 ft2

Project Year: 2016

Photographs: Courtesy of Nick Waldman

Courtesy of Nick Waldman

As night falls, a building appears to be lightly perched on a heavy base, floating and glowing in the trees.

Concept

Diagram

In rural West Tisbury, MA, a graphic novelist needs a place to park and a place to work. The place to park is a black box with a continuous strip of polycarbonate to let in light and expose the framing "branches" that support the upper floor. What sits on top is a cedar shingled, light filled studio in the trees, with tall walls with large windows on the East that frame views of the surrounding foliage and low walls with small windows on the West to gain privacy from the adjacent main house.
Courtesy of Nick Waldman

The local building restrictions on "detached bedrooms" only allow partitions for a bathroom. Thus, the bathroom "core", placed in the center of the room, plays the role of dividing the open living layout into two distinct zones of living/working and sleeping, allowing occupants to circulate around both si...