3SIXØ Architecture & Design

“At 3SIXØ the craft of architecture is practiced as an art. Their work employs contemporary materials and methods, but is based upon the eye and the pencil. The practice of architecture demands ethical responsibility, but it also requires flexibility. The design spirit at 3SIXØ thus combines the sensibilities of the painter, poet, and musician, as well as the single focus of the research scientist, the dreams of the garage inventor, and the fortitude of the spiritual pilgrim. 3SIXØ: the very name implies a complete circle—the dome of the Pantheon, or all degrees of viewpoint. That all-encompassing vision cannot be separated from principals Kyna Leski and Chris Bardt’s roles as educators at the Rhode Island School of Design—one of the rare architecture programs within an art school. As teachers they are able to articulate points of philosophy as well as the nature of materials, to harness theoretical thinking to solve the gritty problems of building. Applying that universality, the firm tackles projects that range from furniture to the urban landscape. The design for a very public monument in Washington features granite steles that radiate out from a central core in an ever-changing pattern that is as primal as Stonehenge, as sophisticated as a new computer language. The bending and shaping of light in a country church speaks of their love of movement. Wavelike cast glass blocks transform a simple bench into a sensual sculpture. 3SIXØ reminds us that the very best architecture satisfies practical needs while continually challenging us to think outside the circle.” -William Morgan, Architectural Writer