Having a deeply personal project featured in Dwell two weeks ago was a proud moment.
Our 1967 split-level home near city-center Bozeman in the New Hyalite View neighborhood was featured in the online magazine as an example of what’s possible when an architect focuses their powers on a place that’s most personal: her family home.
As I told the writer, Brian Libby: "OSC has a vibe, but we’re very sensitive to what the client wants. It's a collaboration. But this was very unequivocally coming from my gut, which was super fun…I had just been sitting on ideas and inspirations I've been wanting to do for a long time."
I’m proud of the home I share with my daughter, Ada, 11, in part because we were able to do what everyone says is impossible in a housing market like Bozeman, Montana. Again, as I told Dwell: “The completed home and its interiors are a study in curvy forms and fine-grained material craftsmanship, all on a deceptively modest budget of $111 per square foot.”
The project was the first for which OSC’s sister company, OSC Construction, served as general contractor. The experience has informed our approach to several other projects on the boards, one of which we will be photographing this fall.
Montana’s AIA chapter is gearing up for a conference to be attended by several of our Bozeman-based team members. You can register here. Sadly, I’ll be out of town, but I’m excited that one of my graduate school buddies, Kaarin Knudson – now the mayor-elect of Eugene, OR – will be a keynote speaker, alongside my dear friend Chris Brown of Observation Studio, whose work I admire very much.
Mayor Kaarin has co-written a staple for those of us committed to building greener communities through sustainable design. Her co-author, Nico Larco, is a professor at U of O, where he and I co-taught graduate studios after I graduated in 2007. You can learn more about The Handbook on Sustainable Urban Design here and pick up a copy of your own.
Speaking of art-forward, sustainable design, our office is co-located with Echo Arts, a women-owned gallery. They have a new show up that you won’t want to miss if you’re in Bozeman this month featuring the work of Sandra del Pogetto. We’re big fans of this Helena-based landscape painter of the American West whose art embodies a “visceral convergence with the natural world.” We’ve staged Sandra’s art in several projects and sourced it for past clients.
Our little Northside neighborhood in Bozeman continues to draw vibrant businesses and now residences with the Wildlands project. We have two new tenants we would like to welcome in our little community, Biome Slow Craft and Beringia – check them both out. We hope you’ll stop by and say hello next time you’re in the area!
To designing a beautiful future,
Allison Bryan
Founder + Owner, OSC
P.S. - Big thanks to Full Swing Public Relations for assistance with our Dwell story. If you’re in the market for PR, check them out! Founder Caitlin Copple will be in Bozeman for a Sky Oro event 9/25.