Architect Wendy Evans Joseph’s youngest client—her 16-year-old stepson, Ethan Ravetch—has a budding interest in astronomy. At her husband’s suggestion, Joseph C’77 built him an observatory, which she describes as “a marriage of sculptural form with practical science.”
The observatory “is designed as a garden pavilion—both a sculptural object in the landscape and a window that frames the view to the mountains beyond,” writes Joseph, whose work has been featured in the Gazette (“Tweaked, Not Trendy,”November/ December 2000).
“Unlike many historical precedents which are solid masonry structures, the building feels light and ephemeral. Encased by a lattice that is activated by sunlight and shadow, it floats in the hay fields.” Yet the telescope itself, a 16-inch diameter Schmidt-Cassegrain, is bolted to a two-foot concrete pier that rests directly on bedrock, ensuring vibration-free viewing.
