Feature Photo: “Flow-Field(s)” by artist Mark Wentzel, a field experiment finalist in an art prize competition held by The Goat Farm located at The Village Green, Photo by Shaun Martin.
I was invited to write a “Design of the Month” article to be printed in the Atlanta Business Chronicle which is an on-going series of articles by architects in Atlanta. It was an idea cultivated by Melody Harclerode, AIA Atlanta president, that was started in effort to promote the profession of architecture. I originally had other thoughts, but then, I had the fortune of visiting the Goat Farm Arts Center and I fell in love with the place instantly. Then, I had a lovely conversation with one of the owners, Anthony Harper, and I fell in love with its story and mission to “push culture forward”. The enterprise model under which the Goat Farm Arts Center operates totally changed my perception of what success looks like.
Photo 1: Mural by artist Adrian Barzaga @ Goodson Yard Building, Photo by Shaun Martin
I found myself basking in the intimate knowledge of its operation and grew to love those walls, the dirt roads, the railroad ties that surface surprisingly interlaced through the buildings and the practitioners who inhabit and care for the buildings and grounds happily. I may have been overly ambitious in offering more than what was asked. Hopefully, the editor finds the piece worthy of sharing in whole, however reshaped. My love for the place is obvious and the assignment opened my eyes to so much more than great architecture. I appreciate all for the time and effort to help write this article. Enjoy!
Nestled off the beaten path of Midtown Atlanta lies one of Atlanta’s best kept secrets. The Goat Farm Arts Center is making an impact on art and technology using the architecture of place and an enterprise model with great purpose. Upon entry, the view of the goats milling about gives you the sense of humble environs. A newcomer would never know that over 100 contemporary art exhibitions & experimental performances take place here annually. The award winning Center is a perfect waltz of art & architecture, whimsy & order, innovation & tradition, past & future, like pendulums in motion set “to push culture forward”.
Photo 3: Robert Spano, Director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, primary conductor for cloth which was part of a contemporary dance series tanz farm, done in partnership with gloATL, photo by Arno Hunter Myers
Original construction spanned 1889-1912 and only included a fraction of buildings that stand today. The complex sits on a 12-acre site at the corner of Foster & Huff, adjacent to active CSX rail lines that remind all nearby of Atlanta’s industrious past. It was originally known as “E. Van Winkle Gin and Machine Works” then later “Murrays Mill” and was built by Edward Van Winkle, a 29-year old entrepreneur and son of a successful builder of cotton machinery. Van Winkle invented a power cotton press that extracted cotton seed oil, a by-product of cotton manufacture once regarded as waste. His success embodies the innovation and ingenuity synonymous with the Goat Farm Arts Center as we know it today.
Photo 4: View peering thru tunnel @ Building 5, Photo by Humza Shakir
The size of the complex is inscrutable as the buildings are situated to compliment open space embracing passers-by and framing vistas with walls articulated to relate to the human scale with artful installations. When the complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, approximately 15 structures were recorded with varying architectural features reminiscent of the Beaux Arts era with undeniable charm in their simple gesture and expression of ornamentation and arrangement.
Photo 5: Atlanta Film Festival Sound and Vision @ Building 5 & Goodson Yard Building, Photo by Octawian Otlewski
At its inception, art was the intended objective; however, science and technology start-ups gravitate to this progressive-minded place that has been honed and carved by the sands of time. These buildings serve as studio spaces, creative offices, small batch manufacturing spaces, a delightful cafe, outdoor spaces and art venues in all sizes for over 470 practitioners of art, science, engineering and technology. These creative souls delve in abstract thought by experimenting with abstract ideals that inform and inspire meaningful engagement. Age is the common thread that connects these buildings, unintentionally creating a dialogue between the old and new, the creative and pragmatic and the organic and intentional.
Photo 6: Concert performance by Black Lips @ Interior of Goodson Yard Building, Photo by Octawian OtlewskiPhoto 7: Production staff relaxing after a long day of install before the start of an event in front of Building 5, Photo by Arno Hunter Myers
Contemporary art installations are laced throughout the complex in very thought-provoking ways to augment vistas and spaces framed by these beautiful character-rich buildings. Beautiful corbelled brick cornices are flanked with vines and flowers, “slow burning” plank and timber interiors that give way to the persistence of time and faded painted letters on walls that hint to building use from days of yore. Skylights and “monitors” hang high like crowns atop noble structures that glisten in the sunlight. Surprisingly, these buildings have withstood the test of time with the help of the new stewards and practitioners who love on these buildings like a mother who gently guides her precocious toddler. These strokes of love are evident in the culture of the place, focused practitioners and a work ethic that is apparent and mirrored by the staff.
Photo 8: Theatrical experience done with Theatre Du Reve during a performance entitled “So Coco”, a hybrid experience about the early days of Coco Chanel @ Goodson Yard entrance, Photo by Octawian Otlewski.
The architecture inspires the innovation which inspires the culture at the Goat Farm. The owners and their teams pride themselves in creating a forum for contemporary thought, vanguard art, entrepreneurial spirit and a social syntax that attracts forward thinking ventures seeking fortuitous interaction. They are quite successful at the creation of this type of social architecture. The Goat Farm continuously explores programs designed to find new ways of organizing people and their knowledge sharing behaviors. Their model encourages practitioners to leverage off of each other’s knowledge bases engaging in an arrangement that is perpetual, working towards a common goal, to “push culture forward”…together.
Photo 9: Hambidge Auction @ the Dovetail Building, Photo by Arno Hunter Myers
Shaun Martin Architect 