Constellation Studio Expansion

At the heart of Lincoln’s creative corridor, the expansion of Constellation Studios for renowned printmaker Karen Kunc is both a quiet intensification and a luminous unfolding. Designed to complement the original 2014 building by BVH Architecture, the addition builds upon a legacy of making, teaching, and artistic generosity.

Lot-line constraints prevent windows on the east and west; light, instead, arrives from above—always present, never harsh. A saw-tooth roof delivers north light deep into four new studio spaces, ensuring artists work in clarity and quietude. Exposed wood framing traces the geometry of the roofline from within, offering a warm expression of structure and craft. A perforated metal screen animates the O Street facade, creating a subtle threshold between the pace of the city and the slower rhythm within.

A courtyard, carved between the existing building and the new volume, becomes the project’s heart—an in-between space that encourages chance meetings, outdoor workshops, and quiet reflection.

Entry is not immediate, but discovered through a side entrance… A gesture that invites a slower arrival and deeper engagement. The new program includes a retail gallery, classrooms, and flexible gathering spaces. All connected to the courtyard and to each other.

This is not an addition that overwhelms, but one that listens—to light, to site, to the quiet rigor of artistic labor. Kunc will continue to work in her original studio, surrounded by the next generation of makers. This is a place for continuity, experimentation, and care. It is a space where art is not only shown, but made.