This artist’s studio on Long Island is carefully placed amidst a wooded site
Architects Worrell Yeung designed the Springs artist's studio to blend into the trees, with leafy views from the lofty atelier

Worrell Yeung has designed an artist's studio within a two-story addition to an existing home on Long Island. The small hamlet of Springs, located just to the north of East Hampton, has a long history of artistic residencies. The Pollock-Krasner House is one of the local attractions and there are still plenty of artists’ houses dotted around the many wooded lots.
A Long Island artist's studio dedicated to creativity
This project was commissioned by an artist, creative director and florist who wanted somewhere to display their collection of art and ephemera as well as create. ‘Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Helen Frankenthaler, and Jane Freilicher all painted out here,’ says Max Worrell, co-founder and principal of Brooklyn-based Worrell Yeung, ‘We were drawn to that lineage.’
Despite the generous, privately situated residential lots, the neighbourhood has strict zoning laws about the scope of new building. Worrell, together with Jejon Yeung and Yunchao Le, designed an 800 square foot addition to the existing single storey house with the smallest possible footprint, rising up into the canopy.
Linked to the house by a glazed canopy, the ground floor of the new structure contains a garage that can double up as an exhibition space. Above it is a high-ceilinged studio, lit by a ring of glazing overlooking the tree canopy.
The project was achieved without removing any trees, so the new structure appears to have been present for decades as the forest grew around it. The black clad exterior serves to further conceal it against the rich green forest.
The architects have rendered this wooden cladding in three distinct sizes, from a solid plinth-like base through to the slender battens of the pitched roof. The original house was also reframed and stained black to match.
Inside, there is extensive use of plywood, used for cladding and for the new staircase leading up to the studio. The windows are steel framed, with carefully engineered glazed corners that give the impression the roof structure floats above the house – particularly effective at night when the studio is illuminated. The studio floor and lower walls are also clad in plywood, along with the bespoke cabinetry that houses the sink unit and storage area.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
‘We wanted to create this experience of being perched in the trees; a retreat for working, says Yeung, ‘The studio is private, protected from direct sunlight, and deeply connected to the surrounding nature and landscape.’
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
The bespoke Jaguar E-Type GTO melds elements from every era of the classic sports car
ECD Automotive Design’s one-off commission caters to a client who wanted to combine the greatest hits of Jaguar’s E-Type along with modern conveniences and more power
-
Casa Sanlorenzo debuts in Venice as a new hub for contemporary art
The luxury yachting leader unveils a stunning new space in a palazzo restored by Piero Lissoni – where art, innovation, and sustainability come together
-
Once vacant, London's grand department stores are getting a new lease on life
Thanks to imaginative redevelopment, these historic landmarks are being rebonr as residences, offices, gyms and restaurants. Here's what's behind the trend
-
Tour architect Paul Schweikher’s house, a Chicago midcentury masterpiece
Now hidden in the Chicago suburbs, architect Paul Schweikher's former home and studio is an understated midcentury masterpiece; we explore it, revisiting a story from the Wallpaper* archives, first published in April 2009
-
The world of Bart Prince, where architecture is born from the inside out
For the Albuquerque architect Bart Prince, function trumps form, and all building starts from the inside out; we revisit a profile from the Wallpaper* archive, first published in April 2009
-
Is embracing nature the key to a more fire-resilient Los Angeles? These landscape architects think so
For some, an executive order issued by California governor Gavin Newsom does little to address the complexities of living within an urban-wildland interface
-
Hop on this Fire Island Pines tour, marking Pride Month and the start of the summer
A Fire Island Pines tour through the work of architecture studio BOND is hosted by The American Institute of Architects New York in celebration of Pride Month; join the fun
-
A Laurel Canyon house shows off its midcentury architecture bones
We step inside a refreshed modernist Laurel Canyon house, the family home of Annie Ritz and Daniel Rabin of And And And Studio
-
A refreshed Rockefeller Wing reopens with a bang at The Met in New York
The Met's Michael C Rockefeller Wing gets a refresh by Kulapat Yantrasast's WHY Architecture, bringing light, air and impact to the galleries devoted to arts from Africa, Oceania and the Ancient Americas
-
A Fire Island house for two sisters reimagines the beach home typology
Coughlin Scheel Architects’ Fire Island house is an exploration of an extended family retreat for the 21st century
-
PlayLab opens its Los Angeles base, blending workspace, library and shop in a new interior
Creative studio PlayLab opens its Los Angeles workspace and reveals plans to also open its archive to the public for the first time, revealing a dedicated space full of pop treasures