Clearscapes (or Water Works Supplies)
This is the home of Clearscapes, located in the Warehouse District. The web site says that
Clearscapes is a multi-disciplinary design firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina that was formed in 1981 when architect, Steven D. Schuster, and sculptor, Thomas H. Sayre, combined their creative talents and energies to design environments for some of North Carolina’s neediest citizens, the severely and profoundly retarded residents of Murdoch Center in Butner, North Carolina. Twenty four years later, the firm has matured to a broad-based, full service design firm comprised of twenty architects, artists, and support personnel with diverse educational, geographic and experiential backgrounds.
In addition to the design studio, the firm maintains a 4,000 square foot shop where material research, mock-up fabrications, and experimentation is done. The firm’s public art is built in the shop as well as components for many of its architectural projects. This facility is unique and extends the firm’s creativity beyond the confines of a traditional architectural firm.
There are several small sculptures and other art pieces around this building that make it one of the most interesting and attractive commercial spaces in all of Raleigh.
04/09/2008
My wife’s sister’s husband (my brother in law once removed?) works there as an architect. I’ve toured it. It’s really pretty wonderful; the owner/principle architect lives in the building, and a large part of the staff are artists. The rings you photographed are prototypes for the rings at the NC museum of art, which clearscapes designed and installed. The folks that work there are rather friendly; go in the afternoon sometime and ask to see inside–it’s rather wonderful how a new, very postmodern company uses an old governmental building so well.
04/09/2008
Hi Matt,
Thanks for the background info on the rings! I had wondered about them. I’ll take you up on your offer to tour it.