markturpin.comMiramonte is a follow-up to Mark Turpin's modern art museum named Diamante. Collectors of miniature paintings, our California clients were looking for a suitable gallery to house their collection, so they commissioned Mark to design and build a new modern structure related to Diamante.
One of Mark's favorite architects, I.M. Pei, designed the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which Mark visited and admired for its dramatic lines and angles, and the innovative use of stone, steel and glass to create an imposing exterior and dramatic interior spaces.
Miramonte is named for the reverse mirror image of its unique floor plan, and for the jagged angular roofline, recalling the mountain ranges of Southern California. The elevations are identical front to back and left to right, but reversed in direction along the spine. The walls are alternately stone and glass, forming hard angles at all four corners. A glass ceiling floods the entire third floor with light, sending light down through the open center stairwell with its single beam staircase. Eighteen spotlights can be moved to focus on the art, and they bathe the interior in warm light each night. Sections of the exterior walls and window panels are removable to access the collection.
Constructed of solid pine and poplar, with acrylic windows; the hand painted faux limestone walls, exposed steel beams, and travertine floor all blend in a pleasing color scheme with shades of tan and gray. Miramonte is a striking, unique home for fine miniature paintings and sculptures.
Dimensions: 37" long, 25" wide, 37" high. Sold.
Miramonte was featured in the March 2007 issue of Dollhouse and Miniature Scene magazine.
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