NYTimes - Architecture Now Building New Names

Interesting article about architecture firm names in the NY Times today.

Architecture Now Building New Names

Architecture firms are moving away from calling themselves by a slew of partner names and toward nomenclature that better reflects the collective nature of the enterprise.

Random Sketches

Some sketches of the plan of a house in the DR and a scheme for a cluster of houses for our development.

Development Strategy Work

Each subdivision within Punta Cana exists both as its own unique site and as a coherent part to the whole of Punta Cana. This same situation exists within the clusters of Hacienda as well. It can be conceived as a single entity but also as several sub-sites with their own key factors for consideration and influence. The notion of exclusivity and seclusion can be better achieved by developing each of these sub-sites as their own cluster, viewing them as a layering of moments that each bring you deeper into a private realm.

The most recent go at the development proposal at the bottom doesn't really show the level of rigor in which we analyzed and understood the site clusters....much work to be done here...

Dominican Republic Photos

Here they are at last!

http://www.sloanspringer.com/images/dr/Site/dr.html

Dominican Republic Presentation

Here are some images from our first big review. We flew down to the Dominican Republic to present our progress to the owners, developers, and real estate executives.


The recent site development of vacation homes has allowed people to live privately through schemes that take over more space than necessary.  Additionally, opportunities for shared space no longer exist in a model that suggests a large radius around homes to produce privacy and exclusivity.  It is our hope that advancing programmatic relationships and generating alternative forms of privacy will create a more efficient model that cuts residual space, and enables new opportunities for interaction between the users at a local scale.


We are proposing an array of two-level 4,000 sqft single-family residences that share a front courtyard and private backyard, and a selection of three-level 6,000 sqft single-family residences that view the golf course beyond.

Here we go again....the beginning of the end

Time to get started on my last studio EVER!!! Just this and my thesis left, with the exception of a few more electives.

This semester is my Visiting Critic (VC) studio, where our professor is an outside practitioner who meets with us once a week or so. My critic is Danny Forster, mostly known for his TV show on the Discovery Channel called "Build It Bigger". He is a practicing architect in NYC, but his TV career has taken precedent, as he is currently working with Steven Spielberg on a documentary about the new World Trade Center construction in Manhattan entitled "The Rising".

Our project is rethinking sustainable developing, working on a "eco" housing/resort development in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. And the best part....we're taking a 4 day expense paid trip there in 2 weeks!!!

The first step in this project is to work in teams to research specific topics that will quickly bring everyone up to speed on the Dominican Republic and our site. Here is my research on the DR and its neighbor, Haiti: