Vacation Home to Concert Hall

An hour's travel from downtown Seattle, Washington, lies what some call "Maine West": Whidbey Island. Forming the norther border of Puget Sound, the island is an enclave of "artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs who really love the great outdoors," says architect Brett Webber. In 2007, Webber, founder of Philadelphia-based firm Brett Webber Architects, PC, completed a live/work house for painter and professional musician Judy Geist, which now plays venue for her chamber group Ensemble M.

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Geist purchased land on Whidbey Island in the early 2000s for a vacation home. Though she started the project with Seattle-based architects, she soon decided working with a local designer would was willing to travel was a preferred partnership and hired Webber for the job.

The goal of the house was to combine living, painting, and performance spaces, but as in nearly all projects, there were several challenges to overcome. The first was a blessing and a bit of an obstacle, Webber admits: "Having such an incredibly creative client and artist with great ambitions made it tough to edit those ideas into something that was buildable and affordable." The second challenge: keeping the size of the studio in check. "It overtook the house," Webber says.

Webber was able to reach a final design by making the spaces as flexible as possible—incorporating double-height ceilings and retractable garage doors on the interior. Geist, however, wasn't sold on the design until construction began. "When she saw the house framed out," Webber says, "then she was 110-percent on board."

Webber and general contractor Jeff Hanson of Northwest Timberframes, sourced materials from within a 500-mile radius of the home, using woods like Western Red Cedar on the exterior and Northern White Maple on the floors.

Artist's Studio House, Whidbey Island, Washington. Brett Webber, architect, Judy Geist, home owner. © Benjamin Benschneider All rights Reserved. Usage rights may be arranged by contacting WaMu and or Benjamin Benschneider Photography. Email: bbenschneider@comcast.net or phone 206-789-5973

In addition to having a place to practice, Geist also desired a place "for a small group to play chamber concerts in intimate settings," Webber says, "to bring classical and chamber music to remote settings." Here, guests arrive for one such performance.

Webber and Geist collaborated on the home's design around the same time as Geist formed Ensemble M, "a loose grouping of collaborative string players who come together through the Philadelphia Orchestra, Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the L.A. Philharmonic," says Webber, who attended a performance at the house when it was completed in 2007.

Much of the 1,800-square-foot space features double-height ceilings. Shown here is a view of concert guests from one of the above catwalks.

Though Geist is able to visit the home for several weeks at a time throughout the year, it's far from a full- or even half-time residence—though Webber surmises that it will one day likely become her place of retirement. In the meantime, she's continuing to host concerts whenever she can.