Stephen Gerard Dietemann
Architecture
+ Art
Our Process
Architecture
My approach is simple: the creative process combines the internal search of the artist and the comprehensive and disciplined efforts of the architect to work regardless of what you are creating.
Architecturally this means that after the client’s programmatic needs, budget and site are determined, the architect needs to search internally for the idea or metaphor that will animate the design. Many ideas will need to be explored to discover the correct approach, but that discovery is critical. I believe that a building of any sort — but particularly a house — needs to do more than the basics of budget, program and code; it must offer a playful retreat that allows for privacy, company, work and play. It must acknowledge the natural world, use as little energy as absolutely necessary for comfort and be as maintenance free as is possible. It should also delight the owner every day.
A good summary of how I approach architecture and art can be found in my NPR affiliate, WAMC, on my ‘Round Table’ interview with host Joe Donahue in 2013.
Take a tour of some of my work — and process– on Youtube by opening Youtube and typing in :
Stephen Gerard Dietemann The Playful House
Five of my recently completed houses were also the subject of an exhibition at the Berkshire Museum’s Berkshire Now exhibition space from March 7 – May 22, 2016, entitled, ‘BerkshireNow/Steve Dietemann. The exhibition focused on five of my houses constructed within the last ten years as seen through the ‘eyes’ (lenses) of 3 architectural photographers.
In addition, a number of my projects have been recognized for design excellence from the WMAIA, including the ‘Carr Residence’, the ‘Conzett Residence’ and the ‘Scribner Residence’.
For more about this exhibition: http://berkshiremuseum.org/portfolio-item/berkshirenow-stephen-dietemann/
A bit more about me and my architectural process:
- Construction Informer Blog → Architect Reveals Top GC Abilities, and Talks Terrain, Foundations
- Upworld.com → Architect Dietemann: drawing out the relationships and metaphors
Art
Artistically, each work of art should, in the words of James Baldwin, ‘disrupt the peace.’ It should offer an unexpected view of the familiar and eschew the predictable. In short, it should, like good architecture, delight the viewer daily.
My interview on NPR affiliate WAMC → on June 27, 2013: the perfect summary