Artist Refuge

A single person residence

Description

The objective was to create a single person residence that incorporated both the user’s work and personal lives. My approach was guided by these standards, yet not bound to them.

Design Narrative

Forced Reclusion

Who do you blame when you are the common denominator, but cannot find what makes you the problem? What do you fix when you are supposed to stay true? Where do you find hope when situation after situation shows hope brings the same pain? When can you conclude companionship just won’t show up? How many times do you have to put your heart back together?

Do you blame yourself? Do you just fix everything? Do you stop looking for hope? Do you decide to accept loneliness today? Do you try to pick up the pieces, or leave them in shambles?

Loneliness is not a nice feeling. In today’s digital age, the tap of a finger thrusts millions of “perfect” relationships in your face through TV, social media, and music. Seeing the smiling faces of everyone’s perfect lives is something that many young people show to not be phased by. While their detachment may be genuine, I find it extremely hard to not be phased by my peers’ fortune in the midst of constant rejection. Night after night and day after day of unanswered texts and cancelled plans weighs heavy as time continues to pass.

Patience is what I want to have, but the waiting is the most excruciating part. Obsessively checking the phone to see the same blank lock screen that was observed just 30 seconds ago. The want to disconnect from it all is strong. But the solitude that exists in the void soon becomes just as unbearable.

The deafening silence of forced reclusion.

Design Process