When studio J2 architects designed the Music Hall Loft, Center for Performing Arts, Literature and Education in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, they were inspired by the quote “Music is liquid architecture; architecture is frozen music” by Goethe. They based the design on the music “Blue in Green” by Miles Davis. The Music Hall Loft won a Design Excellence Merit Award from the American Institute of Architects and was published in New Hampshire Home Magazine in 2012.

studio J2 architects were project designers/consultants to Arrowstreet, Inc. for this office building lobby gut renovation in Cambridge, MA. A wall of continuous video displays, custom metal folding ceiling panels, dynamic step shapes, furniture and art serve to create a composition of sculptural elements. The art installation, designed by studio J2, can be seen from both indoors and outdoors, linking the lobby to the exterior urban environment.

An art collector wanted her condo in Boston’s South End to be both her home and a gallery for her art collection. The design uses a clean, high tech metal aesthetic that functions as both a vibrant and a neutral backdrop for the art. This project was published in Design New England Magazine.

Art is integrated into this Wellesley, Massachusetts home renovation. One example is the family room wall which was designed as an arrangement of several elements including a fireplace, custom cabinetry, and artwork. The painting was commissioned specifically for this location to become part of the composition.

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studio J2 architects designed the renovation of this office building lobby in Cambridge, MA as project designers/consultants for Arrowstreet, Inc. New finishes and lighting were designed to allow the space to function as an art gallery as well as the main entrance to the building. A partnership with the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MA supplies a rotating art display.

Some of studio J2’s projects, although never completed, have allowed for the valuable exploration of ideas. In addition to this live/work artist housing in Lynn, MA, some unbuilt designs include: a house for two artists by the sea in Gloucester, MA, an art gallery/residence in Cambridge, MA, and museum galleries in Lowell, MA.

studio J2 architects uses design competitions as another way to explore the relationship of art and architecture. The designs for the Holocaust Memorial in Atlantic City, NJ, the World Trade Center Memorial in New York City, the Sheffield Festival Centre in England, and the “Temple of Laughter” competitions all strive to find symbolic and poetic possibilities in architectural design.

John was Project Designer at Ellenzweig for this addition to the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Clark University in Worcester, MA. The program includes a lobby and recital hall for music performances, lectures, and film screenings as well as an art gallery. John drew on his love and knowledge of the performing arts for the design.

Jennifer was Project Designer at ARC/ Architectural Resources Cambridge for this Harvard Medical School Building. Phil Leder, Chair of the Genetics Department, remarked: “..it is a beautiful, indeed, even striking building [that] could easily stand as a work of art, but of course, we realize that it is far more than that: it is, in fact, a colossal scientific instrument created to shape the lives of its occupants.”

John and Jennifer met at the intersection of art + architecture. While working at OKS Architects, a five-person firm in Cambridge, MA (no longer in existence), they were assigned to design a nine-screen art house cinema. They aspired to make a building reflective of the creativity of the art films that would be shown there. One of their sketches convinced the client to commission a piece of art for the wall above the concession stand. The theater won an ASID Design Excellence Award and was published in Boston Magazine in 1996.