This artists residency, nestled within the residential neighbourhood of Somerville MA, redefines notions of property and collective space. The insertion of new volumes between two existing typical triple decker buildings creates studio and gallery space that act as a public access “corridor” to connect two streets that, on account of the urban layout, were previously proximate yet definitively separate.

The interlocking form of the addition creates studio “nook” spaces, which in plan become an inversion of the bay window found in the typical triple decker. Riffing off the bay window as a space of separation and creativity, these artists nooks become sites of private innovation within the larger studio space. Additional dormer windows in the Maynard roof above again repurpose the typical elements of the triple decker housing type to suit the artists needs.