SMNG-A has been working with Ox-Bow School of Art since 2000, initially developing the campus master plan for improvements and later as the design architect on several of the identified projects including the Burke Glass Studio, the Inn Addition, Lutz Painting Studio, Marshall Dormitory, Janie Dormitory, Haas Painting Studio, Wood Kiln, Metternich Lodge, and Works on Paper Studio. The remarkable Ox-Bow campus rests within 115 acres of first- and second-growth forest, a coastal dune, and a lagoon once part of the Kalamazoo River in Saugatuck, Michigan.
The Inn Addition was the most significant and initially most controversial of these projects, both contextually and technically. SMNG-A skillfully designed the new addition to fit in scale, proportion and location behind the original building structure as to not undermine the historical and emotional value of the old Inn. The addition provides a full cooking kitchen and dining facilities for the entire campus, support and critique spaces located in the basement below the dining room, and dormitory rooms for a total of 20 new beds including two fully accessible rooms and a bath located on the first floor. An enclosed breezeway connects the old Inn with the addition, leading to the shared outdoor decks, newly created courtyard space, and the dining room. The addition provides year-round facilities unlike the old Inn which operates seasonally.
The addition design reflects that of the original structure with its forms, the traditional cladding materials and detailing. This deceivingly simple addition was possible only by careful site and construction planning. Permanent mitigation of the steep dune slope used stepped field stone retaining walls and vegetation to stabilize the soil.
