10 entries, with sources
Tadao Ando·2013
West purchased this concrete oceanfront home as the ultimate architectural statement, then stripped out windows, doors, interior fixtures and marble finishes to reduce it to a raw concrete shell without plumbing or HVAC.
Purchased for $57.3 million in 2021; West subsequently removed the windows, doors, interior fixtures, and marble finishes to expose the bare concrete structure.
Axel Vervoordt·c.2013-2019
After seeing Vervoordt's wabi-sabi interiors in Venice and Maastricht, West said, 'I thought, This man could design Batman's house. I had to work with him,' and hired him to gut his home into a monochromatic, monastery-like interior.
West's direct quote about wanting Vervoordt to design 'Batman's house' and the resulting monochromatic renovation of his family home, as documented by Architectural Digest.
James Turrell·1977-present
West visited Turrell's earthwork extensively, donated $10 million toward its completion in 2019, and filmed his 'Jesus Is King' film inside it, calling Turrell's light chambers his ideal for how people should live.
West visited Roden Crater, donated $10 million toward its completion, filmed 'Jesus Is King' inside it, and tweeted, 'We all will live in Turrell spaces.'
Jean Royère·1947
West sold his Maybach to fund the purchase of an original Royère 'Ours Blanc' sofa, saying, 'People told me I was crazy for what I paid for it, but I had to have it.'
West's own account of selling a luxury car to buy the sofa, quoted in Architectural Digest coverage of his home.
Fernando Campana and Humberto Campana·2002
West called this stuffed-animal chair, bought from Murray Moss, the first serious piece of design furniture he ever purchased, and linked his attachment to it directly to a scene from the anime film Akira.
West stated: 'The first piece of [contemporary design] furniture I bought was the Teddy Bear chair by the Campana brothers, from Murray Moss. I still have an affinity for that because of the scene in Akira.'
OMA (Rem Koolhaas, Shohei Shigematsu)·2012
West's creative agency DONDA partnered with OMA to build a bespoke seven-screen pyramidal pavilion for the Cannes premiere of his short film 'Cruel Summer,' marking his direct authorship of a temporary architectural structure.
DONDA partnered with OMA's Shohei Shigematsu to design a temporary seven-screen pyramidal pavilion in Cannes for the premiere of 'Cruel Summer.'
John Andrews·1972
West stood atop a desk in the tiered studio trays of Harvard's Graduate School of Design in November 2013 and delivered an impromptu speech declaring, 'I really do believe that the world can be saved through design, and everything needs to actually be architected.'
Documented account of West's 2013 speech delivered while standing on a desk inside Gund Hall's studio space.
Le Corbusier·1920s-1960s
Interior designer Joseph Dirand introduced West to Le Corbusier's work in Paris, which West cited as a direct catalyst for the stripped-down minimalist aesthetic he pursued during the 'Yeezus' era.
In a 2013 interview with Jacques Herzog, West explained that Joseph Dirand introduced him to Le Corbusier's work, which inspired his minimalist aesthetic shift.
Pierre Jeanneret·c.1951-1955
Teak-and-cane V-leg chairs from Jeanneret's Chandigarh Capitol Complex furnished West's Vervoordt-designed Calabasas home, sourced through design dealers as part of his modernist furniture collecting.
Reported as key furnishings in his Axel Vervoordt-designed Calabasas compound, sourced through Parisian and international design dealers; no direct quote from West about the pieces.
John Pawson·1990s-present
West referenced Pawson's austere minimalist architecture on his personal blog as one of several designers, alongside Herzog and Hadid, who shaped his interest in reducing spaces to pure lines and hidden infrastructure.
West mentioned Pawson on his KanyeUniverseCity blog and named him alongside Herzog and Hadid as an influence, but no specific commission, purchase, or detailed anecdote is documented.