Houston Fine Art Press, Houston, TX (1985-1987)
The site for the 10,000 sq. ft. printing workshop was a distressed 39 feet wide by 300 feet long sliver of land located in one of southwest Houston’s industrial warehouse districts. A walled-in parking and courtyard area interlocks with the building to create a serene compound and an architectural whole. A steel frame structure unfilled with painted plastered concrete block walls, the workshop is a continuous volume divided into two distinct programmatic sections. The larger section, located at the end of the site, includes a vaulted ceiling that hovers above the printing presses and storage areas. The smaller section to the front of the building is an open gabled ceiling hovering over the administrative offices, a printing press station and a gallery. A series of north windows and clerestories march along the entire length of the building, infusing the various volumes with a constant subtle light all day long.
