Website iaR — Artistic Research in Residency
A fast, characterful site for an artist residency in Patagonia.
iaR is an independent artist residency in El Chaltén, Patagonia. They needed a site ready in time for their first digital publication — fast to ship, but still carrying the residency's own visual identity rather than a generic template.
A tight deadline meant no room for an over-engineered build, but the client didn't want something generic either. The site had to move fast without sacrificing character.
Vanilla first, for speed
Started with plain HTML/CSS/JS and a Node.js build script to get something live quickly, with a lightweight templating system (shared partials, layouts, a page manifest) to avoid repeating code across pages.
Migrating to Astro
As the site grew, the vanilla approach started duplicating too much code. Migrated the project to Astro, keeping the same lightweight feel but with a more maintainable structure going forward.
Keeping the residency's voice
Design decisions stayed close to the client's identity rather than defaulting to a template look — the goal was a site that felt like iaR, not like a generic build.
A live site now used to publish open calls and publications, including the residency's program "Tras la ruta del Huemul" and its first digital publication, "Al ras del suelo".
Starting fast with vanilla tools was the right call for the deadline, but recognizing when to migrate to something more structured — before duplication became unmanageable — mattered just as much.