Green Blades of Grass

The Multilevel Parking Building at Aguadilla Mall starts its final construction phase.  The fiberglass reinforced precast concrete fins are being welded in place, anticipating the conclusion of the-18 month project.  F&R Construction is in charge of the project being inspected by CRCE Inc.

Our firm designed the new structure as the “front yard” of a big huge house.  Conceptually, it gave us a much needed parti, to come up with a nontraditional façade. The  $7.2 million dollar project is one month ahead of schedule and promises to be an icon in the western coast of Puerto Rico.  As an advance report, we include a few photographs and later we will issue an entire article as we get closer to opening day.

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Twin Houses

About six years ago, I was asked by a former classmate at Georgia Tech and former partner at SPAZIO Design Studio to come up with two houses to be built at the site of a single family home.  The site was large enough to be segregated into equal plots.  The way the project was approached involved designing two houses that could be complementary in looks, siting and relevance, albeit different. The project became known as Twin Houses.  The residences are located on Doncella Street (32-34) at Punta Las Marias.  After the usual debates that architects and developers generate (the developer is an architect also!), a successful project was finally concluded, after construction permits were acrobatically issued.  Then, one day after a few long months trying to sell the houses (each one had a price tag of $800,000.00), the new owners finally moved in.

I just recently went by to see the neighborhood, after sharing with my wife, a huge “carne empanada” at Che’s and felt at ease that the houses had weathered so well.  Proof of living showed up everywhere: small bikes on the carports, loosely hung draperies on the wrong places, residues of rain-channeled dirt on the parapets:  perfect project.  The houses look dignified and real.  Its only Architecture. Its only Architecture

Architecture and Social Media

We begin a new Social Media Life, primarily fueled by the fact that I may be teaching a new course at the ArqPoli, the School of Architecture at the Universidad Politecnica in Hato Rey.  The course is titled Architecture and Social Media.

Social media is the media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue. Architecture is a social profession based on effective communication.  Architecture and Social Media are extremely compatible and merging both endeavors, results in highly productive and unimagined scenarios.

The purpose of this course is to introduce architecture students to the basic principles of web-base Social Media platforms and its potential uses in the development of Architecture as a multivalent profession. The course deals with various concepts such as society, communication, representation, ethics, humanitarian aid, branding, frugality, remoteness, profits and others, as practically applied to the profession of Architecture and its related branches of Design and Construction.  In attempting to answer the question of how Social Media influences Architecture, we will learn how the web and web-based platforms work. We will study the underlying ecosystem of Social Media as we anticipate the future of communications and its direct impact on the built environment.  By the end of the course we will have produced a wish-list of potential resources needed to fully embed Architecture into the complex and fascinating world of Social Media.  This knowledge will allow students to help visualize new trends in design matters, market the profession and help Architects to fully integrate into the mainstream in order to influence society in more effective ways.

Soon I’ll be letting you know about this course if  it is finally approved by the University Board.

Occupy Puerto Rico (and your mind)

Don’t miss out on October 15, Global Occupy Day (Go to Occupy Puerto Rico fan page on facebook). Here in Puerto Rico, targets range from corporations to banks to “grandes intereses”. Architecture should not be absent from conscious critical thinking based on why and how only a few control the lives of the silent majority. The Construction Industry has been kidnapped by limited credit, lack of confidence in the working class and the idea that nothing will get us out of this dead end. When I graduated from Georgia Tech in 1976, we were living in the midst of the worst recession known since the 1930′s. I was starting my professional career where there was no hope. Somehow, passion and dignity led my generation to pursue a dream, while living a nightmare. Lets think about the future of Architecture in these troubling times in ways never imagined, building a true legacy for our kids. Occupy your mind, that’s where it all starts.