Smith Photography Studios
Houston, Tex.
Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, LLC

A cozy home inspires creativity and comfort for these California architects

© Hester + Hardaway Photographers

For more photos click on 'photos & drawings' above. To see the people and products behind this project click on 'people & products.'

In leaving their leased office/warehouse space and building their own new facility, the client saw a significant opportunity to build upon the company’s hard-won reputation as one of the premier full-service commercial photography groups in the nation. Utilizing a 132-by-290 foot site in a light industrial Houston neighborhood, the immediate context of asphalt and aging prefabricated buildings is interrupted only by a stand of weathered post oaks and cottonwoods near the street. A goal was set to create a new model for an affordable workplace by manipulating the language of pre-engineered steel buildings. These low-cost enclosures could then be composed from without to create a hidden village through site planning and massing, and utilized from within as empty theaters awaiting set design.

Requirements for the project included three large photography studios, two commercial quality kitchens, darkrooms, digital workstations, offices, client lounge and gallery, a shop, and storage areas. Three metal bar buildings were arranged to create a series of courtyard oases within the industrial landscape. Two wings, one containing the studios, shop and kitchens, the other offices and digital workstations, are bridged by a reception and lounge area. Internally, architectural set pieces define entry and major circulation, while serving to display the studio’s collection of photographic props and equipment. Passage through each wing is punctuated with views into the courtyards. Forms and colors are composed to resonate with the surrounding context while transcending the banality of the typical metal building.

Formal name of Project:
Smith Photography Studios

Location:
Houston, Tex.

Gross square footage:
13,000 sq ft

Total construction cost:
$840,000

Owner:
Ralph Smith

Architect:
Natalye Appel + Associates Architects, LLC
2017 West Gray #1
Houston, TX 77019
Phone: (713) 522-7992
Fax: (713) 522-8078
www.appelarchitects.com