A04
Summer Palace
AW 17
Summer Palace is inspired by the artworks of Hieronymus Bosch and aspires to create a unique resort experience. It aims to provide a haven where individuals can temporarily escape their routine lives and freely indulge their desires in a remote setting. The core objective of this project is to construct an enigmatic garden that is universally accessible, offering an experience that feels authentic and truthful rather than just a replication of natural settings.
In a departure from conventional resort design, the Summer Palace eschews typical elements like dim lighting and private spaces. Instead, it fosters the expression of desires in a public and unambiguous manner, employing soft and indistinct elements such as plants, scents, and fabrics. This design philosophy is applied to a new landscape morphology in the mountainous region of Grasse in Southern France. Here, the architecture is seamlessly integrated with the existing topography and landscape.
The resort features a versatile landscape system with gardens that encourage communal living under a shared canopy, promoting a collective experience of nature and a celebration of desires. Summer Palace reimagines the concept of privacy, embracing a culture where individuals can confidently display their bodies under the Mediterranean sun. In this context, discarded clothing becomes a subtle indicator of human presence, contributing to the unique ambiance of the resort.
- Site: Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes, France