An oasis frames art within everyday life in Phoenix

Phoenix Art Museum

Phoenix, Arizona

This shady courtyard, conceived as an oasis within Phoenix’s harsh climate and suburbanized block network, serves as both quiet refuge for the public and hard-working venue for outdoor sculpture, daily programming, and large events that support the Phoenix Art Museum’s larger public mission.

2424 N26 wb — Summer temperatures in Phoenix are among the warmest of any metropolitan area in North America, and the city receives a mere 8.3 inches of rain annually. By contrast, winter conditions are irresistible. Our sculpture garden for the Phoenix Art Museum assumes a vibrant outdoor life for the city but the application of sustainable practices and sound design choices tempers its landscape for extreme heat and drought.

Art and Everyday Life

Our work frames art within everyday life in Phoenix. The design appropriates from monastic traditions to create a quadrangular space defined by perambulatory arcades. A traditional cloister exploits simple conditions of modified warmth or cooling breezes, alternating shade and shadow, horticultural fragrance, verdant color and texture, the delight of flowering plants, and seasonal change. The Sculpture Garden brings these traditions forward in a contemporary expression.