The foundation of a Fort Worth family wanted to gift a major public art piece to the community and commissioned the internationally acclaimed artist James Turrell to design a Skyspace to be named “Come to Good” which would be housed within a non-denominational meeting house.  Turrell’s meditative use of light to transcend and unify was a key factor in the selection.  The architects were retained in 2016 to assist with site selection and feasibility and to provide input protecting the Skyspace aperture’s view shed and limiting light pollutions.

The selected site is near a mixed-use development allowing for shared parking and utilities and is adjacent to an active trailhead along the banks of the Trinity River, encouraging pedestrian and bicycle access.

The architecture and material selections were inspired by the family foundation’s long history in Texas and the location on an historic ranch in southwest Fort Worth.  Native Texas limestone from the ruins of one of the family’s former ranch houses NW of Fort Worth was reclaimed for the exterior walls and the stone coursing was replicated.  Porches on all four sides of Keith House welcome visitors while also recalling the family’s original ranch house.  The color palette grows out of the site; grey/brown columns are inspired by the surrounding trees while the red/orange trim is inspired by color of the fencing and gates in the surrounding ranch.  An operable roof opens at sunrise and sunset for Turrell’s light sequence.

The design team collaborated closely with Turrell and his team throughout the process on details such as the operable roof, lighting cove, dome configuration and the aperture’s critical knife edge, all of which are unique to this piece.  Custom benches and doors were designed in collaboration with a local craftsman who has long done work for the family.