Studio MM Architect
TRANQUIL ABIDING, GLEN SPEY, NEW YORK
Founded in 2010 by Marica McKeel, Studio MM is a modern-minded residential architecture firm with offices in New York City and the Hudson Valley. A recent standout from the studio is Tranquil Abiding, a house that thoughtfully responds to the clients’ spiritual practice. It was after years of involvement with the Buddhist community in upstate New York that McKeel’s clients decided to plant roots closer to their temple in Glen Spey. Studio MM designed a house composed of four semi-connected pavilions that hover above the earth, splayed like a fan. “The pavilions are gently pulled apart, creating interstitial spaces that physicalize the Buddhist concept of sunyata, or emptiness,” McKeel explains. Their siting on the 115-acre wooded plot is driven by three elements: the temple, the path of the sun, and a creek that runs through the middle of the property. The meditation pavilion sits directly on axis with the temple, while the main bedroom overlooks the burbling creek. The living room is oriented due south, maximizing sunlight. Bedrooms and living spaces emphasize simplicity: quiet, cozy rooms that are modest in scale and clear in intent. “Our clients were interested in design that minimizes clutter and organizes daily routines as a way of gaining mental clarity,” says McKeel. Inspired by connection to the
PROJECT TEAM MARICA MCKEEL, AIA; COLBI CAMPBELL KEY CONSULTANTS HOBBS, INC.; SILMAN; CABINET DESIGNERS; HARBROOK FINE WINDOWS DOORS & HARDWARE PHOTOGRAPHY BRAD FEINKNOPF
maricamckeel.com; @studiommarchitect 52 INTERIOR DESIGN
land, stone excavated from the site and chiseled by hand was applied to the facade as a contrast to the expanses of glass that connect interior and exterior. In the meditation pavilion, on the other hand, windows are drastically scaled back, allowing the focus to remain intently on ritual.