Washington, DC

Project Description

An author and naturalist wanted to convert an existing interior, low-ceilinged and unfinished space to a room with an inspirational atmosphere filled with natural light where he could work surrounded by favored objects and works of art.

The room occupies a pivotal location in a courtyard house set in a dense urban environment. The room opens out to the garden and opens up to the sky making it a threshold between house and garden and between earth and sky.

The domed ceiling is painted with stars and surrounded by clerestory windows framed with mirror insets, extending the room infinitely. The mosaic tile floor is laid as a labyrinth, offering a contemplative ground. The walls and display cabinets, also animated by mirror insets, house a collection of seventy-five antique bird eggs, a set of four landscape paintings and other objects of art.

The relation of the starry dome above to labyrinth below with the display of natural and man-made objects in-between creates a poetic universe expressed through one person's interests. The room stimulates creativity and dialogue, inspires meditation and satisfies one's need for comfort and well-being.