Stone Gallery, Santa Fe

Silence you can hang art in

The gallery needed darkness and daylight at once. We cut three saw-tooth rooflights into a heavy concrete shell so north light washes the walls while the plaza sun never touches the art. Thermal mass holds 21 degrees through desert swings without drama.

The plaza is the other half of the commission: local stone, one long bench, two shade trees. On opening weekend 6,000 people came — half for the show, half for somewhere to sit.