Studio James Carpenter / JCDA is a unique studio that grew from out of the Environmental Art world of the 1970’s into an internationally recognized art/architectural design studio whose foundational principles place the presence of nature, environmental sustainability and the individuals deep experience of place at the center of each project. With the studios unique knowledge base of working with light, materials, structure and the craft of making, each project in its own unique way embraces and amplifies a site’s natural characteristics and a community’s traditions of use by connecting people to each other, to their history and to their ecology.

The practice is motivated by a deeply held agenda that seeks to merge ecological and aesthetic goals by exploring the natural world to manifest its material, structural and environmental beauty in the built environment. The work is a synthesis of creative ideas and technical expertise that straddles the fields of fine art, architecture, engineering and landscape while forging the creative implementation of innovative technologies. Environmental light and opportunities for its observation, are the work’s initial inspiration, which become a guiding principle in designing each architectural/sculptural project. These places become poetic expressions of light that serve to renew our relationship to the natural world. The work is often supported by innovative engineering by our partners SBP.