About

Troy Hill Art Houses is the brainchild of Pittsburgh collector Evan Mirapaul. Inspired by a visit to the art houses in Naoshima, Japan, the idea was to re-imagine domestic spaces as permanent artworks available to the public. He invited German artist Thorsten Brinkmann in 2011 to transform an abandoned house near his own home in Troy Hill --a hill-top neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-- into a total-structure art piece. The resulting work, La Hütte Royal, opened to the public in 2013 .

Encouraged by the public and critical success of the first house, Mirapaul acquired other houses nearby with the idea to invite other artists to add to the project. Polish artist Robert Kusmirowski’s Kunzhaus was the next to be completed in 2016.

Lenka Clayton and Phillip Andrew Lewis moved to Troy Hill in 2019 partly lured by the art-friendly environment suggested by the first two art houses. They approached Mirapaul with an idea for a third house that was the most architecturally radical of the art houses so far, building a lighthouse inside of an existing house. After years of intense collaborative work, Darkhouse Lighthouse premiered on September 25, 2022.

A fourth and final (?) house is underway in the competent hands of Mark Dion. Completion of Mrs. Christopher’s House is anticipated in Fall of 2024.

Troy Hill Art Houses are open by appointment to the public for free. Schedule your visits here.