Côme Rolin
Architect
June-July 2026
- Architecture
- Houston
“I will study Marfa as an example of the preservation of neglected built heritage, potentially resonating with other cases elsewhere.”
Born in Dijon and based in Paris, I am an architect and independent researcher. Trained at ENSA Paris-Belleville and USI Mendrisio, I am part of Amor Immeuble, a collective combining research, experimentation, and architectural practice. In recent years, we have participated in residencies and exhibitions in France, Belgium, and Italy. Since 2017, I have also contributed to the art and architecture journal Frog Magazine.
During a study trip to Texas in 2018, I discovered Donald Judd’s architecture in Marfa. While visiting his library, I realized the importance of architecture in the American artist’s work. I began my research by studying his writings and collecting sketches of his architectural projects available in books, articles, or online. This initial fascination later became the basis for my master’s thesis and now serves as the starting point for this residency project at Villa Albertine.
Côme Rolin (France, 1995) is an architect and independent researcher, trained at ENSA Paris-Belleville and USI Mendrisio. He is part of Amor Immeuble, alongside Rocco Paoli, Olivier Thomas, and Mathieu Volkovitch, a collective combining research and architectural practice. Together, they have been residents at CIAP Vassivière (2023), at Architecture Curating Practice in collaboration with Juliette Simeone and Aïcha-Louise Wenger (2024–2025), and winners of the Faire Paris competition in collaboration with designer Anna Saint-Pierre (2023). In 2025, Amor Immeuble, Marcello Carpino, and Leander Venlet initiated Brussels Based, an exhibition presenting the work of 50 architectural practices founded in the past ten years in Brussels.
Marfa: a town, a landscape, a collection of buildings, archives. My research will unfold across a constellation of sites in the small Texan town and its surroundings. Exploring the territory and archives, observing buildings and construction documents, and visiting the isolated ranches once owned by Judd will all constitute key moments of this residency.
I will study Marfa as an example of the preservation of neglected built heritage, potentially resonating with other cases elsewhere. In France, an increasing number of architects are relocating to rural areas, away from the major urban centers where the profession has historically been concentrated. This specific geographic anchoring encourages the development of architecture connected to a territory, using local construction techniques and materials.
In collaboration with Avenir Radieux—an association founded by architects that works against the desertification and degradation of the historic center of Pesmes in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and explores possibilities for its renovation—I will foster a dialogue between Marfa and Pesmes, reflecting on themes common to these two geographically distant initiatives. What does isolation and the territorialization of a practice imply? How can one apprehend and understand a territory—its material presence, history, economy, culture, formation, and transformation?