Àni Private Resort and Àni Art Academy are two sides of the same project. As well as a boutique hotel, the project also includes an art school as a non-profit organisation for the local community. Situated in close proximity to Àni Private Resort, the Art Academy is run as an independent association financed by the resort’s revenue. The client and owner chose to include this additional programme in line with their global development approach whereby all projects should benefit the local population. Today, six Academies are open across the world, with the ambition to open several more in the years to come.

The site extends over 1 hectare bordered by rice fields and a forest. A path leads the students to the entrance which opens on to the drawing workshops. The school is organised in 3 workshops. These ateliers are arranged according to a teaching model developed by Anthony J. Waichulis. Following the natural incline of the terrain, we designed the workshops parallel to the slopes, with passageways that run along the façades. The roofs are simple rectangles composed of clay tiles supported along the passageways by an alignment of V-shaped columns. This colonnade creates an outer skin with a strong rhythm and views opening on to the surrounding environment.