Atlantic Center for the Arts

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Leeper Studio Complex,
Atlantic Center for the Arts
New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Set in a dense ecological preserve on Florida’sIntercoastal Waterway, the Leeper Studio Complex is home to a renowned artists-residency program that counts such artists as Robert Rauschenberg,Lukas Foss, Edward Albee and Alice Aycock among its alumni. The complex includes studios for dance, drama, painting, sculpture, music and writing; plusa black-box theater, library and dining hall. The design weaves studio pavilions into the vegetation, creating a sense of complete immersion into the landscape. The pavilions are linked by a boardwalk, which sits two and a half feet off the jungle floor and provides both circulation and public spaces toexchange ideas and spark collaboration between artists. Structures are highly responsive to the environment: Each roof, for example, gathers torrential rainfalls and channels the water into a single scupper; expansive glass walls maximize northern light while wood louvers lessen the effects of direct tropical sunlight. Materials include cedar siding; epoxy-coated steel curbs,lightposts and trellises; mahogany windows; lead-coated copper roofs;poured-in-place concrete and glass.

Completedin 1997, the Leeper Studio Complex has won widespread recognition: two State ofFlorida grants; an American Institute of Architects National Honor Award forDesign Excellence; an American Institute of Architects New England Honor Awardfor Design Excellence; I.D. Magazine’sAnnual Design Review Design Distinction Award; a Boston Society of ArchitectsDesign Honor Award; an American Wood Council Honor Award; a Progressive Architecture magazine award.In addition, the project has been featured in Architectural Record, Architecture, Progressive Architecture, GA andINSITE.