room, and studio on the ground floor with a bedroom and bath above. Equally important was a simple, strong design concept. According to Neal, “If you have a strong concept and the idea is simple, the project transcends.” And transcend it does. By day, the building is a straightforward, linear metal-and-glass box that shares the site with only the existing native vegetation, pond, stock tank, and windmill. At night, however, it appears to levitate and float above the landscape. Simple materials, employed conceptually, express individual building systems. A slot in the concrete slab serves as a fire pit (set on axis with the existing stock tank). Another slot within the studio space collects the sand and gravel Kyle uses in his art. At the back porch, steps cast into the slab overhang slightly to reveal the edge. Atop the slab stands a prefabricated steel super-
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structure reminiscent of an off-the-shelf metal building, which imparts a rhythm and reference to experience the interior spaces. Six-inch-thick enameled-metal structural insulated panels (SIPs) are affixed with screws to the steel structure for enclosure and protection. A skin of corrugated, galvanized steel shields the structure from the elements with no apparent trim. Translucent polycarbonate panels are attached to wood studs on the east and north side walls and soffits. The translucency of the panels creates a delightful ambiguity. At different times of the day they allow light in and/or out—sometimes they seem opaque, sometimes not. Suspended from a cantilevered steel beam, a sliding panel opens the studio to the outdoors and allows Kyle to work at a larger scale than before. The panels change personality whether they are lit from the front or back,
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