The central space is the landmark of the project. Its unique positioning, in a clearing of the dense forest, strengthens the idea of centrality, but also stands back from the site. Built underground, it induces a very close relationship with the sky, placing the artist in a cosmic dimension. This space allows the artist to retire from the landscape so as to rediscover it every morning with a fresh look. The archetype of the house is here reduced to a minimum. It includes a living room, built around a central fireplace, a bathroom and a bedroom.
The worshop (22m2) The workshop is the space where the artist prepares his expeditions, maps his route, develops his pictures and thinks about his own explorations in art. Located in the heart of a rocky outcrop, in height, the access to the workshop is via a thin mineral band, sandwiched on either side by the cliff. This space gives the artist a certain confinement for reflection but also a view on the surrounding forest. This space accompanies the artist in his reflection. .
The meditation space (13m2) The meditation space fits with the lifestyle of the artist set to the sun’s path. Facing west with a large panorama on the surrounding hills, the building frames the sunset. Two stone walls leads the view on a restricted field of vision, accentuated by the filter timber roof.
We offer to create him a house for Richard Long on top of the mountain overlooking Grenoble, in a unique landscape. The site, called reserve of Luitel (1262 meters high), located in the French Alps, is a preserved site where no one lives and where the communion with nature is unique.
Richard Long’s art consists into using the framework and materials of nature for artistic purposes. He travels a lot, looking for suitable places to experiment with his art. Walking is the working tool of the artist ; It is his way of thinking and creating material.
The house meets the very special lifestyle of the artist by providing a transition between the large scale of his walks and the small scale of housing. Richard Long’s house is the starting and ending point of his journey across the territory : it is a central point, an anchor, a landmark for the artist. The project offers two distinct types of relationships to the landscape, depending on the state of mind of the character, but also on the weather or the time of the day.
The components of the housing are reduced to the strict necessary, located in the underground core, organized around the fireplace. This central location is designed as a retreat for the artist, where he can extract himself from the landscape and enjoy the starry sky.
The rest of the house is exploded in small poetical interventions with special relationship towards the landscape. Some baths, a workshop and a meditation alcove are linked to the focal point of the house. As these spaces are distanced from the central place, each of them offers a journey to the artist.
As the components of the housing are scattered in the landscape, the house stimulates the creativity of the artist by getting him in close contact with nature. We can imagine that he decides to place this stone onto another, use these colorful leaves, or get theses branches together... and finally invest a territory that goes way further than the walls of his house. The landscape is his house.
A HOUSE FOR...RICHARD LONG
Architecture Idea Competition Credits : Benjamin Nicaud & Victor Trosset Réserve naturelle nationale du lac Luitel, France
