When the owners of a world-class private contemporary art collection wanted a home equally suited for people and masterworks, they found it difficult to reach the perfect balance. Overland’s belief that art is integral to the human experience helped the team bring intimate and gallery spaces together into one harmonious design.
Overland offered the clients the opportunity to workshop a variety of options that considered their lifestyle needs, the strengths of their building site, and the optimal art experience.
Rather than force their vision on us, Overland started the design process by carefully listening to our needs and desires for our new home. Our vision was to create a home that would not only complement our art collection but would truly allow us to live with and experience the art in our daily lives.
Once the clients decided that they wanted one space combining gallery and home, rather than separate spaces for each, Overland began by digitizing all of the art in the client’s extensive collection. This allowed them to incorporate the specifics of the collection into the design, rearranging dimensions, lighting, and flow to fit the interaction of art and inhabitant.
The next step was to consider the site. The client’s favorite way to experience the site was looking out over the creek, from a little bridge between their current house and garage. Overland decided to bring this experience into a more central part of the home experience, and worked within floodplain restrictions to design a bedroom that bridged the creek so that the clients could wake up every morning to their favorite view.
In the end, the home’s greatest strengths would be experienced from within. “Architecture is meant to be felt,” said Blonkvist.
In most places where life and art exist side-by-side, the space feels more like one than the other. To help create a truly blended experience, Overland worked with one of the country’s foremost lighting designers to maximize the efficiency and beauty of spaces dependent on ideal lighting. Light coves that conceal LED, linear fluorescent, and track lighting fixtures change the quality and quantity of light during the day to mimic the color and intensity of natural light, illuminating the artwork throughout the house. This allows for museum-quality lighting levels in certain conditions, as well as warm, intimate residential lighting levels.
The clients added a residence for a visiting curator, and soon began welcoming people in to tour their collection. The public presence of their home and collection fulfilled their mission of inspiring others to live among their art.
- Chicago Athenaeum International Architectural Design Award 2015
- Association of General Contractors National Pyramid Award for Construction Excellence 2013
- Art+Auction, “Gayle and Paul’s Texas-size Collection,” June 2013
- Interiors, “Sip and See,” Spring 2013
