colab studio, llc

Creating low-cost sustainable housing for infill lots across Metropolitan Phoenix: After being approached by a developer (valihomes.com) to create these homes, we have been studying and testing various methods and materials for building within empty lots in well-established neighborhoods. These homes are meant to be a modern equivalent of the famous “case study” homes of the 1960’s- built for our time and place, and with sustainability in mind. The aim is to have the prototype surpass LEED Platinum certification, provide high quality construction and design, yet remain affordable. The first...

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A seemingly banal lift station is transformed into a beautiful architectural detail through the addition of a water-jet-cut steel cornice.  Rather than make the lift station simply recede further from view, the station broadcasts his valued use to its community.  The cornice is comprised of patterns derived from water, as well as imagery comparing desert and water based flora, that will cast shadows along the walls throughout the day.  These constantly changing shapes will change hour to hour, day to day, to create an ever-changing artistic display.  At night, eight LED lights cast patterns...

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Research organized around attempting to understand how people directly control their surrounding urban environments through personal everyday decisions such as where to dine, shop, live, and be entertained: Our team collected over 100 lengthy interviews in person from people all over the Metropolitan Phoenix area. The data shows a stark difference of the way people live depending on their location in the city, and does point to a correlation between lifestyle choices and surrounding environment. However the most interesting aspect we uncovered is the lack of connection some people have to the city...

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Exploration of the outward expression of one’s individuality and culture: Working with international students at a university, we will turn conversations during cultural meals into art-imagery. The imagery will be transferred to cast bronze “vessels” which are worn as backpacks on abstracted concrete figures. The concrete is dyed to match the building, and the figures are placed according to the structure’s geometry. The statues will adorn the building, visible from outside and inside. Placed within kitchens on each floor, a pair of wall-mounted bronze figures present their cultural vessels...

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Symbolizing the relationship between different modes of transportation:The cyclist is a nomad- someone who must self-power their own body through an environment “alone”, even if in a group. The cyclist is a performer- someone who demonstrates a greater balance between themselves and the environment. The cyclist is in a delicate and constant balancing act within a precarious situation- working their way through dangerous vehicles and/or landscapes, as well as environmental stewardship. Working within a very limited budget, we sought a way to stretch the artwork over a street for maximum impact.

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A symbol of community, democracy, ecology, and solidarity for a small university: Powder coated aluminum panels containing 263 abstracted acrylic blades of grass will be installed within the existing lobby of the Culture & Society Building on Florida Atlantic University’s Campus. A text panel below the artwork expresses the concept and will have quotes from famous figures relating about the ideas of Grassroots and democracy. Four LED flood lights, mounted opposite, will be controlled to alternate in color and intensity to make the “field” appear to wave in the breeze.

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Renovation of a 1954 bungalow home in Tempe, Arizona. A tight budget necessitates simplicity, efficiency. A large central courtyard.    A flexible, transformable house. The existing house: Gutted. Three new walls positioned. Four mobile wardrobes added, each with a built-in door. Bedrooms may be created or taken away as needed. Re-used steel frames and decking create new entry and patios. The addition: Mobile millwork separates the great room (kitchen, dining, living) from studio. When entertaining, the millwork moves east to create a 1000 SF dining/living space. If the studio grows,...

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Appreciating the unloved; environmental seeing & learning, natural and otherwise: A park has been dedicated to a woman who befriended the homeless, loved low desert “scrub” (common creosote), and organized the neighborhood to rebuild a local desert park. Four sculptures are created by perfecting greatly enlarged miniscule parts of creosote flowers, leaves, seeds, and buds. Bronze sculptures appear along a tertiary but heavily utilized desert path through the park. Text is added describing amazing attributes of the plant, such as its ability to produce 30 million flowers in a life span,...

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A 1954 building’s only public space, a roof terrace, was badly damaged in a storm and must be rehabilitated. A historic restoration is not desired by most residents. Working with countless existing idiosyncrasies (utilities, structures, layout), a carefully articulated system of asymmetrical linear patters is developed to harmonize all elements. New surfaces are treated as applications, leaving gaps to absorb sound and expose the existing structure at opportune moments. The design is meant to focus on the vast views. All work must last for 50 years, withstanding daily direct western Arizona sunlight....

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Expressing the audacity of our desert oasis: Shade structures are required at four diverse locations within a large park. The visibly adjacent, raised earth-buttressed canal brings water 350 miles from the Colorado River to Phoenix as the city continues to grow. We sought a way to describe the precarious scale of human intervention on the landscape. Comparing such an endeavor with weightlessness moments found in sporting events, 6,000 pound local stones can be quarried and set on posts in various configurations around the huge soccer tournament park, surrounded on 2 sides by the canal. Shapes mimicking...

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