De Maria Pavilion
Housing three sculptures and a series of drawings by Walter De Maria, the pavilion is located within a walled garden on an 11-acre estate in Bridgehampton, NY. It is part of an informal art walk that links several contemporary sculptures set throughout the site. Within the walls, the design inverts the typical formal garden by reintroducing indigenous plantings: red cedars, bayberry, swamp white oaks and meadow grasses.
The building’s brick facades reference the 1920s brick garden wall, but their color is related to the dark granite of “Large Grey Sphere,” a 32-ton sculpture, also by De Maria, set in the landscape. Composed of twenty-four-inch long, dark grey bricks, the east and west faces of the building are set with alternating courses corbeled to create linear shadows that emphasize the bricks’ horizontality. The brick at the north and south facades is split and set in a header-only random bond, resulting in a coarse, seemingly random texture.
The board-formed, concrete interior is day-lit by a large skylight and east-facing glazed wall, overlooking the “Large Grey Sphere” and restored landscape. Light levels are modulated by light-diffusing glazing, motorized shades, and a fixed scrim suspended above the Alaskan Yellow Cedar rafters that support the skylight. Lighting for evening use is concealed above the scrim, with the exception of two down-lights that highlight the floor-mounted “Equal Areas” sculpture, whose polished surface reflects the light onto the concrete ceiling, creating an unexpected double-image of the work at night.
