A young painter needed a personal workspace closer to her home that could facilitate the making of her multi-faceted pieces. kdA designed her new studio, composed of three intersecting boxes nestled into the hill behind her home sited above the Silverlake Reservoir.

Programmatically the studio needed to provide a wide, open segment of floor to place working paintings and collages as well as tall, generous expanses of wall to hang the paintings while they dry or during work intervals. In addition, it was preferred that no direct light come into the workspaces.

The three-part building consists of an office space in the front, a painting/workspace in the center, and a skylight resting above the two. The skylight box is essentially a clerestory floating above the central workspace and the office. This skylight system and exposed wood ceiling provides extensive ambient natural light while preventing any direct light from falling on the walls. Light is modulated by a suspended shade system constructed of recycled wood product.