Mississippi Craft Center
Ridgeland, Mississippi
The Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi is an organization whose membership has grown from thirty to over four hundred professional artisans in its thirty-five year history. Housed in a small house of approximately 1,000 square feet, the state of Mississippi recognized the guild’s need for a more prominent and appropriate facility.
The primary purpose of the new facility is for the display, demonstration, and education of craft while secondary functions include service as a visitor’s center for motorists traveling the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, retail space for the purchase of craftsmen’s products, administrative space for the guild’s staff, and publicly available rental space. The form of the building is an amalgamation of rural vernacular architecture that utilizes high ceilings, deep overhangs, and covered verandas. The building is constructed of a simple, honest material palette: native Mississippi woods, exposed concrete, naturally finished stucco, aluminum cladding, galvanized steel, and glass. It is thoughtfully detailed to complement the contents of the building.