1268 Route 27
Craryville, NY, 12521
Upstate Workspace is an artists residency and studio program offering subsidized live work spaces in Columbia County, New York.





To transform the church into an artist retreat, Critical Mass chose to leave the exterior mostly intact. The siting of the church nave was aligned on a north-south axis facing the street. The new organization reorients this interior to an east-west axis, connecting the interior to the expansive wetlands landscape to the west while maximizing the natural light and ventilation. The construction was approached with a cabinetmaker's sensibility: with a maximum of artisan wood joints and a minimum of mechanical fasteners. The new stair, new bookcase and the spliced structural beam are all constructed out of recycled timbers joined on site.