Artur Gala, a third-year architecture student at the Silesian University of Technology, has received an honorable mention in the international competition titled. "Hills of the Arts" organized by the Young Architects Competitions platform.
The competitiontask was to arrange the 18th-century villa Altosimo near Turin into a hotel and creative workspace for artists. The study area included the villa building and the plot of land adjacent to it. The organizers wanted the project to be not just a hotel, but also an art center where artists of various disciplines could meet and create together (or in seclusion).
The hotel's surroundings include a sculpture park
© Artur Gała
hotel for artists
The awarded project is a concept for the conversion of a villa into a hotel for artists. The direct inspiration for the student was the hill - surrounding and inscribed between the existing buildings. This allowed the creation of a new underground floor. The resulting staircase acts as an amphitheater giving a view of the art gallery and a plaza for artistic performances, while also being the heart of the entire establishment, a place for meeting and contemplation of art.
The author divided the project into three parts:
- the first is the guest house, art gallery and restaurant,
- the second is the artists' section, the wellness area, the auditorium, the exhibition space and the corridor leading to the restaurant section,
- the third part is pathways running between the buildings and connecting them to each other.
The project is divided into three parts with different functions
© Artur Gała
garden full of art
Along the resulting paths, art is intertwined with greenery. Walking artists can contemplate their surroundings, relax, or create in special booths designed for studios. Exhibited in the art gallery and outdoor spaces, the works are highlighted by subtle lines running through the ground.
The author has added an underground floor to the existing buildings
© Artur Gala
According to Artur Gała:
The biggest design challenge was to meet one of the competition's requirements - a provision to respect existing architectural and landscape qualities, which allowed for the introduction of a maximum of 300 square meters of new usable space, and to limit newly designed structures to a height of 5 meters. Such stipulations encouraged me to have as little visual interference with the architecture as possible, so the new block was located below the existing buildings, while the functions designed in the existing part do not interfere with the overall structure of the buildings.
The lines running through the floor mark the spaces for the exhibits
© Artur Gała
The interiors of the buildings are characterized by minimalism, bright colors and noble, high-quality materials that emphasize the exclusivity of the place, while allowing people to focus on art.
elaboration: Dobrawa Bies
illustrations courtesy of Artur Gała
