Residence for an Art Collector

New Orleans, LA

This 4,500 square foot house has been designed to contain a cutting-edge collection of contemporary paintings and photography. Other than a double height, north-facing glass curtain wall, the massing of the house is solid and planar, limiting the effect of natural light on the photography. The entry is signaled by the garage block’s pulling away from the main body of the house, a feature that also allows for a sitting terrace with views of the lake from the garage roof.

A perimeter parapet wall gives the appearance of a flat roof and belies the true building form where three roofs slope one onto another from front to back. Three pairs of steel French doors open into a narrow rear garden containing a fifty foot bamboo planter that can be viewed from the living and dining rooms.