"In order to engage the neighborhood, the focus was to design a new ceramics studio and gallery open to the street. The transparent façade offers a glimpse into the main studio and gallery. One is framed by terra cotta panels, the other by Cor Ten steel. Materials were selected to reflect inhabitants, but also to trace the building's life in time, (ref: On Weathering). These building materials undergo what is known in physics as a Phase Change. Objects made in a ceramics studio are similarly transformed; from liquid, to solid, via a gas producing process. Once fired, ceramic objects are solidified records of this phase change; their surfaces permanently defined by the process. Materials selected for the façade reflects similar qualities. Cor Ten will patina over time, Terra Cotta panels hold similar records of process, but less imperfect than the handmade object. The scale and pattern of each was chosen to reflect the art of the hand. Each is a running bond, on scale with the overall architectural element to clearly be one amongst many.

The glass façade is followed on by subsequent layers of glazing, defining each space within. During day, one can glance out from any location. During night, one can glance in from any location. A skylight punctured, fills the space with essential diffuse light. If the Cor Ten and Terra Cotta are phenomenal transparencies, glazing forms a literal set of transparencies. It is here the building finds its definition.

The kiln room is an anchor, set along the rear façade for long duration firings. Its two overhead doors light the room with full southern exposure. At night, they open to let cool air fill the space or allow outdoor firings.

Together, these elements provide space for artists to think, make, fire, and exhibit their works."