Studio ABLISTEASO

After sitting vacant for many years, an abandoned liquor store caught the attention of a local community advocate who earned his living as a film editor. This client sought to contribute to the revitalization of his neighborhood in East Somerville by bringing new life to this unremarkable commercial building. Named Studio ABLISTEASO (“ABandoned LIquor STore, EAst SOmerville”) by the owner for both its previous life and its community identity, his goals for the building were for it to support his art while also serving as a modest community anchor.

KMA’s design team transformed the building to support these goals by turning it into a two-story live-work artist space. This took advantage of the existing structure and served the client’s program while maintaining a sympathetic relationship to the neighborhood. The former liquor store’s large commercial storefront windows open to the main space of the ground floor which serves as the resident’s living room and an impromptu gallery, while the existing walk-in refrigerator room was repurposed as an editing studio. By deleting the existing roof and setting a new floor plate within the existing parapet walls, the team was able to add two individually articulated bedrooms under shallow shed roofs, accessible by a new staircase on the back of the building. The design allowed open views and light into the owner’s spaces while preventing any visual obstruction for surrounding properties, a quality that aligned with his community values and sense of place.

KMA appreciated the creative aspect of this project and was able to present plans that supported the client’s vision while making this eccentric addition feel like a natural part of the urban landscape.