work: Cultural and Public Galleries: Corner House Gallery

The Austen Riggs Center is a voluntary, therapeutic long term residential community in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, with an emphasis on intensive psychotherapy paired with an open setting. Also part of the center is the Erikson Institute, well known in the medical community for intellectual scholarship. 2019 marks the Center’s 100th year, and IKD was charged to fully renovate an existing structure owned by the Center to house a new public gallery space with a permanent exhibition that celebrates the the long history and values of the Center. IKD acted as the design architect, exhibition, and graphic designer for this project in partnership with Pam Sandler Architects.  

The main apparatus of the gallery consists of a peg rail that wraps around the perimeter of the gallery, with panels of varying sizes hanging at varying display heights. Inspired by a timeless historic detail in Shaker interior architecture, the continuous rail is a balance between new and old, offering a fresh and unique way to display content while contextualizing the space within the Berkshire region. Custom millwork provides an easel to display patient artwork, book shelves, and stool storage while detracting attention from an existing ramp that needed to remain in the gallery. While permanent, the flexible design of the gallery and exhibition allows for modifications of content over time.