The Marfa Project

The brief for the Marfa Project will ask for the design of a guest house to the Chinati Foundation, at Marfa, Texas. In order to approach this assignment we will embark on a number of small design exercises which will explore individual concepts of sensual space as well as various modes of an architectural response to climate and site conditions.The project will have to react to both – the context of everyday life in a small American town as much as the exeptional presence of the sculptures and buildings by Donald Judd and other eminent artists. As a counterpoint, the studio will also discuss the projects of Peter and Alison Smithson (in particular Upper Lawn and the Lauenfvrde projects) as well as a number of designs by sauerbruch hutton. A trip to Marfa is planned for the weekend of Sept 25th; attendance is desired but not imperative. The studio aims to develop a rich project extending far into the exploration of architectural space, material and technology.