Architecture as Collaboration
Two artist friends bought a large warehouse in San Francisco as their working studio and home.
The studio was located at the street end with its industrial door. The residential portion was at the rear. We removed a portion of the truss roof to provide light and an outdoor courtyard.
The design was a collaboration between the artists and the architect. They were responsible for the dramatic stair in the courtyard, the elaborate kitchen with its huge table, the den and its banana tree garden, the office with its dome and white marble courtyard and much more.
Other details started out at their suggestion, "how about a glass top for the bathroom sink top" As in any good collaboration it is difficult to assign authorship to some parts but it was my idea to sheath the entry and the internal spiral stair with glass channels, I designed the fireplace and the 50' wide glass wall that brought light in from the courtyard. To enliven the long entry, I angled one wall to produce a forced perspective.
At the grand opening party, I introduced myself to a famous guest "Mr Hockney I am the architect" I shouted over the music, exaggerating my role it its creation. Fortunately, I doubt he heard me as we shook hands.