GRAPHĒ: An Architect Built a 16,700-Square-Foot Museum That Happens to Be a Home

This is how an art enthusiast convinced Arturo Grimaldi to create a private gallery that doubles as a residence.

A large sculpture made of weathered metal stands in the home’s central yard.

There’s a certain calm to museums—a sort of expansive peacefulness that’s become increasingly difficult to find in a world that seems to thrive on noise. When a friend of Arturo Grimaldi’s approached the architect’s namesake firm seeking to build a new home, this was the feeling he wanted to recreate.

The Island House is set on a 1.2-acre plot of land in Nordelta, about 25 miles outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Photo by Javier Agustin Rojas

"The main challenge of this house was figuring out a balance between domesticity and that museum-like quality he was after," Grimaldi says. "This dynamic determined the scale of the house and its relationship to the exterior."

As the chairman and CEO of a financial company and the father of four school-age children, the owner sought to build a tranquil property that would bring peace to the demands of both responsibilities. But he also wished to build a museum of his own making, where he could proudly display his extensive art collection in an exhibit that would never close.