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Husband and wife team Hansy Better Barraza and Anthony Piermarini met as undergraduates at Cornell University and later attended the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Remaining in Boston after graduation, they found themselves working for several firms, including Office dA, where Barraza was employed, and Kennedy and Violich Architecture, where Piermarini did a stint. The couple decided to take the leap and establish their own practice, Studio Luz, in 2001. It did not take long to garner work or attention: This past year they were one of the winners of the Architectural League’s Young Architects Competition.

www.studioluz.net previous image | next image   Young Architect’s Forum Installation New York City, 2004 A study in transmutation, this reusable and adaptable exhibition engages its viewers. The magnified viewfinders that present the firm’s projects are lit by electroluminescent film. Photo Greg Irikura. Diva Lounge Somerville, Mass., 2004 Many aspects of this project, from lighting to seating, provoke both the tactile and visual senses. The bubble interior, using LED lighting and heat sensors, reacts to the movement and massing of people. Click here to see a 360° quicktime panorama of Diva Lounge. OmBar Boston, Mass., 2002 Set in what was once a bank, the architects used several existing elements to their advantage, like designating the vault as a VIP area. The designers sought to create a flexible, multifunctional space. W.O.W. Newton, Mass., 2004 Experimentation with prototypes and materials resulted in a jigsaw-puzzlelike design for the building’s facade. The store owners will be able to display their work in the apertures within the design. Kashmir - Indian Bistro Boston, Mass. 2003 Taking design cues from the previous tenant, a Hennah tattoo parlor, this Indian bistro's interior features seating created with fabricated skins and Hennah patterns. Mailslot System, Harvard Design School Cambridge, Mass. 1999 Questioning the future of post mail, this new mail-slot system brings to it both a formal modality (a steel wall with mail slots) and a digital modality (LED "receptors"). Pentagon Memorial Washington, D.C., 2002 (Competition Entry - Semi-Finalist ) For their entry, Studio Luz designed a plan consisting of 184 tall, slender, hollow steel poles which would act as reed instruments. The wind instruments serve as a memorial "through the act of listening, one is absorbed in a respectful silence." All photography courtesy Studio Luz

Barraza explains that the competition’s theme, “If … Then,” presented a challenge for her and Piermarini to explore formally what goes into the creative process. “In some cases, architecture is transmutation,” she says, “and in those instances, a final design is never agreed upon between the architect and client. Instead, it’s an evolving process.” For their entry in the League’s exhibition, the pair set out to construct an armature whose final form was not fully predetermined. The result was a framework with viewfinders that would hold and display photos of their work and engage the audience.

Studio Luz’s initial projects allowed the team to explore privatizing public spaces, as well as controlling interior environments. In Boston’s OmBar, for example, the clients were in search of a venue for entertainment that would feel exclusive enough for private dining but could be transformed into a sleek lounge space. Recycling existing materials from what was once a subterranean bank vault became part of the design. The architects took a large amount of the remaining tempered glass, shattered it, and covered the shards with translucent resin to form the central column, the bar, and the floor. Creative lighting of the composite crushed glass and resin produces both sparkle and ambience.

Continuing their interest in lighting and design that produce an all-encompassing sensory experience, Studio Luz began work on Diva, another lounge in the Boston area. Referring to the design of Diva, Barraza says, “Architecture doesn’t speak, so we took it upon ourselves to create a way for it to communicate.” Covering the walls with LED-illuminated domes and heat sensors, they created lighting that changes as the patrons of the lounge move about. As people congregate in one section and the density and temperature changes, the lights respond.

In another project, Studio Luz has found an opportunity for expression in the public realm. With W.O.W., a woman’s clothing boutique that features the work of local artisans and tailors, the owners wanted a funky facade that would sheathe the store, a former gas station. Piermarini explains that the scheme, inspired by fashion design, will utilize irregularly shaped polycarbonate panels that will fit together like puzzle pieces.

The firm’s upcoming projects are more institutional and much larger in scale. These include a Fellowship Center in Massachusetts and an orphanage in Haiti that will house 90 children and include a school component for 400 as well as a medical clinic. “These projects are meant to have a major community presence and will take on social responsibility,” says Piermarini. “This work really inspires us.”

By Randi Greenberg