Client: Thomas Eads Fine Art

Project: 1,400 sf gallery space in midtown Tallahassee

Cost: $65,000

Status: Built

Delivery: Cost plus

Description: Tom Eads, a wide format photographer and broker of a dozen southern artists came to me with a sketch to take his vanilla box, add one wall, carpet, and paint. He also stated that he wanted a gallery that could hold its own in Chelsea or Milan.

His vision begged for something a bit more refined and dynamic so I proposed skewing the wall, framing the display with a wood proscenium punched in black and adding a second movable 'boomerang' wall to increase the display space.

I also brought down the 18' high ceiling plane to define the enclosure and provide an armature for the lighting.

The gallery was built as designed and opened in January to huge crowds and rave reviews. A surprising effect was how well the space functions acoustically. Leon Anderson, Jr., sat in that night as the drummer in a jazz trio. He remarked to me how great the sound was in this rather modest space. Apparently the wood ceiling panels also act as resonators amplifying the sound but keeping the reverberation time in check.