2018 Best of Design Awards winners for Cultural Space

The Transart Foundation by SCHAUM/SHIEH was developed for a Houston-based artist/curator working at the intersection of art and anthropology. The project consists of two buildings: a repurposed 1,200-square- foot private art studio and a new, 3,000-square-foot primary building for visitors that holds exhibitions, performances, and salon-style dinners. The second and third floors of the new construction include an office, a conference room, a cavelike nook, and a roof terrace. The facade is clad in smooth white stucco panels, creating a tectonic language that allows gaps and seams to manifest as swooping window frames. The structure incorporates thick timber beams in a manner akin to a Dutch barn, carved so that the front corners join precisely in front.