Roberts Street Chaplet

Exterior view of the mobile chaplet.

Project Details

• Project Name: Roberts Street Chaplet
• Client: Marjorie Schlossman
• Project Type: Architectural design
• Principal Designer: Joel Davy
• Design Team: JLG Architects
• Date of commencement of project: March 2005
• Date of completion of project: June 2006
• Location of site: Fargo, North Dakota, USA
• Built-up Area: 98 square feet
• Cost of Construction: USD 25,000 (including fees)

Interior view of the chaplet looking towards the painting alcove.

The Building

The Chaplet was commissioned by an artist interested in creating a spiritual, meditative space where she would paint in response to the qualities of space and light.

Diffused light and the exaggerated verticality help create spaciousness within the chaplet.

The elemental form of the gable roof on a simple cuboid is intended to create a structure that lies somewhere between a small temple and a simple farm building.

Steel post-and-beam construction along with the gridiron translucent plastic infill panels gives the chaplet a Japanese character.

The chaplet provides a mobile studio for the artist.

The 8'x12' interior is experienced as three separate spaces: the entry, the painting alcove, and the seating alcove.

Diffused light coupled with the exaggerated verticality of the chaplet create spaciousness within its limited volume.

Credits

• Text by Joel Davy, Courtesy of the architect
• Photographs by Lonnie Laffen, Courtesy of the architect
• Compiled and edited by Manish Mehta