Case Study · Private Residence · Long Island, NY
From glass to plaster
How a reef aquarium became a sculpted wall, start to finish.
- System
- See-through reef aquarium
- Setting
- Freestanding sculpted column between two living spaces
- Finish
- Hand-applied plaster over curved framing
- Timeline
- June – October 2026
A reef that belongs to the architecture
The brief was a reef that would not look installed: no cabinet, no visible frame, just water held inside a soft, plaster form that rises from the floor and flares into the ceiling like the rest of the home's arches.
The aquarium is open to both sides of the room, so the column reads as sculpture from every angle. What follows is the whole process, from the first rendering to the day the reef was switched on.
01 · The vision
Design
Everything started with a rendering: a single window of reef set into a curved plaster wall, framed by the arches on either side. Every decision after that served this image.
02 · Glass on steel
June – September
The glass aquarium arrived on its black steel stand and was set and leveled in its final position before anything was built around it. The base was sealed to the floor so the column could rise directly from it.
03 · Plumbing below
September
Before the walls closed in, the plumbing was routed inside the stand, with the floors and finished surfaces protected throughout.
04 · Framing the form
September
Steel studs went up around the tank, tight at the corners so the framing could follow a radius instead of a right angle. This is where the column first takes its shape.
05 · Curves overhead
September
At the top, a fan of shaped ribs carries the column into the ceiling, the same flare the home's arches make. Each rib was cut to its own profile.
06 · Sheetrock on every curve
Late September
Board was bent and fixed across the framing and ribs, turning the skeleton into a continuous surface. Curved work like this is slow: every piece is fitted by hand.
07 · The hidden hatch
October
A reef needs daily access. Above the glass, a service panel was templated and built to sit flush with the finished wall, so maintenance never shows.
08 · Tape and mud
October
Joints were taped and the curves floated smooth, with the viewing windows masked to protect the glass.
09 · The plaster
October
Plaster was applied by hand over the whole form. It is the layer that makes the column read as one piece, soft at the edges and continuous from floor to ceiling.
10 · Life support and aquascape
October
With the shell finished, the filtration was commissioned in its dedicated cabinet and the rockwork was built inside the tank, then the reef was brought to life.
11 · Living art
Finished
The result is a single sculpted form with a reef at its heart, viewable from both sides of the room and built so that nothing mechanical ever shows.
