Project 01: Artist Retreat

The purpose of this project was to design an artist retreat for an artistic client. The retreat has to relate to the client's art style and background. The artist I was given was a famous German artist by the name of Anselm Kiefer.  Since Anselm Kiefer's art is known for his representation of the Holocaust and other German historical events, I decided to place his art retreat in Donaueschingen, Germany. This site is not a hugely populated city and has a lot of open forest and grasslands; which relates to a lot of the landscape paintings he portraits. The house I designed for my client is using his methodology of natural and discarded material; and demonstrates aspects of one of his artworks, the "Seven Heavenly Palace". Materials that will be applied in the house design is concrete, metal, and wood. Discarded materials will also be incorporate to the artist retreat to formulate an industrial urban like area.

Anselm Kiefer's art style conveys an ominous atmosphere through the use of dark and dull colors. In a lot of his works, he uses this idea of linear patterns to connect the audience to the piece. Anselm Kiefer is also recognized for his composition of various natural and discarded materials. I believed Anselm Kiefer's art is very simply but also has a sense of complexity. The "Varus" is a painting of a forest path at night, however there are various small details that display 

Mixed Media

The main purpose of this multimedia piece was to represent Anselm Kiefer's "Seven Heavenly Palace" then branch out to his other artworks. I also wanted to represent a natural landscape, so I made a ground layer for the background. This symbolizes many of the landscapes displayed in his works and the use of his methodology. Through the multimedia piece, I was able to understand the application of organic shapes and placement to incorporate to the house designs.

(Images used in the Mix Media)

Design Process

My approach to the artist retreat started with simple general ideas I got from researching Anselm Kiefer. I was getting a sense of industrial and naturalistic feels from a lot of his artworks, so I decided to sketch ideas in that context. The sketch, I chose, portrayed much like a Mexican pueblo. I then question, "What can I change to represent Anselm Kiefer's style?". So I incorporated a sense of separation in the space between the artist studio and the main living quarters. I eventually added elements of the "Seven Heavenly Palace" to the main house to fit his style and expand the space. Finally I arranged the buildings in the location to be sparsely spaced to provide a great use of outdoor space for him to utilize. 

Final Design

The final product of the structure is a three story main living space with a guest quarters. The art studio is huge since Anselm Kiefer's works are in a large scale and he uses a lot of heavy equipment. The main hallways in the living space are made of glass; giving an illusion of separation and making it seem like two towers. The main living quarters are made of concrete and metal; patio and decks are made of wood.