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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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 Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 1:42 pm Post subject: DeMaria Architect ??? |
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A friend saw a house project on CNN and then convinced me to drive all the way to Redondo Beach, CA to check out this "cargo container house" that was under construction. It was designed by an architect named Peter DeMaria. It was under construction and we couldn't get in, but there were about ten other people who were checking this place out from the street when we got there. We all had a full blown 45 minute discussion about the issues that the project addresses. I checked the website (demariadesign.com) and there is some limited info on there about the firm. Does anyone know much more about their work? The container house seems like a "sleeping giant". It's over the top and without banging down his door, I'd like to know more about his other work. Also, Architecture Week looks like it is going to have some info on his work next week, cool! Does anyone know more about DeMaria and the firm? thanks in advance.
HW |
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AM Putra
Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 59
Location: Indonesia
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| Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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I was quoted this from their website http://www.demariadesign.com/:
| Quote: | | "Our Architecture aims to enlighten and invigorate, to inspire through creativity, and to realize an excellent idea that is embodied in the spirit of the client and the project location; the idea is the soul of our creation. We promote a new Architecture with an ideology that embraces the evolving global informational age. Clients and the project site are the strongest influences on our Architecture that is born from a state of mind and place that is not predicated upon stylistic or historical mimicry. Our architecture is safe, functional, useful and secure, yet innovative with proper and well detailed material applications. Our clients become strong members in the process of creating architecture and the results represent our fundamental perception and barometer of life." |
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Architecture that I really love -Architectook- |
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archmag
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 10:57 pm Post subject: DeMaria Architect |
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AM & HW -
That quote from the website reminds me of something from the Italian Futurists. Great words but does this architect deliver? I did a little research in the last 24 hrs and he sounds like the real deal.
The shipping container project in Redondo Beach is impressive. Shigeru Ban opened many eyes with his traveling museum and that was great. However, many architects have talked about pulling off various types of container projects, but rarely have any ever built anything so progressive as this home. The containers are just the starting point, there are another ten parts of the house that make this project more than a container project. From what I have gathered, he has a couple other container projects in Los Angeles that are under construction (foundation phase); a mixed use residential/commercial and a community center. Main stream media, CNN, LA Times, HGTV have all touched on what he's got happening and its just a matter of time before the lid gets blown off by some Arch publication. The Italians appear to be in touch with his work as he's had some work published in Italy. Only one person that I spoke to actually knows him and said that he's a straight shooter with no time for "B.S.", he rarely does interviews with the media and he has also been teaching for the last seven years. Apparently someone in Salt Lake City knows more about him because he was a juror for the State of Utah AIA Awards last year.
It sounds like he's got some huge container project proposals happening in his studio which should be interesting to see. Lastly, and the strangest thing I have found about his work, is that while he is based in Manhattan Beach, CA (one of the most expensive places to live in the US!), he is raising the discussion of alternative construction methods along with affordability issues that effect housing and shelter around the world. Not only is he prompting the dialogue, he is actually getting the work built. Not an "ivory tower" architect by any standards. Save the planet!
Good find HW, you prompted me to finally post, kudos. I'm going to take a shot at contacting his office direct. |
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elisa kouloumenta
Joined: 24 Sep 2006
Posts: 110
Location: greece
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| Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 12:37 am Post subject: |
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hi hw, thanks for sharing your interest about demaria's work with us, i hadn't heard about him before. i find his work pretty interesting, especially the crest house. As for the Redondo beach house, it's surely very inspiring. i had read in metalocus magazine about a group of architects who design small houses based on the idea of container, i can't remember their names right now, i 'll try to find the article and i'll be back with it.
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elisa kouloumenta |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1003
Location: UK
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| Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 11:21 am Post subject: |
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If you think that house is over the top, hw, you should see the new Freitage store in Zurich - it is entirely built from shipping containers and doesn't hide the fact. It even has a viewing tower, made from nine containers on top of one another!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredag/
P.S. Kevin has kindly put a thread on this forum today for the Redondo Beach house
http://www.designcommunity.com/forums/topic-14631.html |
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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2007 4:24 pm Post subject: DeMaria |
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| Hi and thanks for the responses from all; they inspired me to call the architect direct. Great work Architecture Week, the article is informative and fresh. The Zurich building is also super cool - the europeans have latched on to the container for some time and that project is nice. Anyway, I called the DeMaria office this morning, caught the Architect and he spent some time with me discussing his work. The Crest Drive project is on a tiny lot that is 30'x45' - it was designed for a surfer who works in the aerospace industry. A surfing aerospace engineer???... only in LA! Their office has lots happening and two other container projects under construction. One in Venice and the other in East LA. The Venice project just broke ground and they are prepping the site. To get the projects approved and built is the result of four years of research and hard work. Peter said he's reached a point where all the governmental, structural and bureaucratic testing/battles have taken place, "now it's time to create some innovative architecture that can reach the masses". Super knowledgeable guy and he talks about a container as though it was a brick. After my phone conversation, I was really inspired but for the first time, I began to treat the containers a little more seriously. As optimistic as I am, I ponder whether or not people are ready for container buildings on a wide scale basis. |
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TJCaine
Joined: 06 Nov 2006
Posts: 53
Location: New York, NY
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| Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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The shipping container discussion is always an interesting one, providing a unique balance of pros and cons. I happened to see one of the roaming exhibit pavilions that was constructed of them when I was out in LA last spring. The sustainability issue is often a positive one: lots of reused materials that otherwise often sit in a yard somewhere collecting dust.
"I was really inspired but for the first time, I began to treat the containers a little more seriously. As optimistic as I am, I ponder whether or not people are ready for container buildings on a wide scale basis."
The firm that jumps to mind when you're talking shipping containers is LOT-EK. They are huge advocates of using them. HW, you raise the reality of the issue I think, which is clear in how few of LOT-EK's projects are actually built. DeMaria is right in their description of the beach house that the shipping crates bring with them a durable construction, but they also have a few drawbacks.
One of the large ones is noise. These six walls of metal don't bring a gentle environment to the ears without a bit of work. Even with a fully studded wall around the interior, the result can still be a bit loud. For those who have been in a tin or aluminum roofed shed or warehouse in the rain, you'll know the experience. It becomes difficult to retain the idenity of the box/material and still shield the noise from the inhabitants inside.
Along the same vein, insulation can also be an issue. The benefits of fire proofing and mold proof construction also provide giant thermal masses that can get very hot and very cold. Insulating these structures for a temperate living environment instide can be a bit costly. The hole-cutting issue comes into play eventually as well. I suppose it's better if you don't house any bathrooms or kitchens in there, but every utility line that goes in is another hole that has to be cut and sealed.
Maybe when these things are made so that they can be deconstructed more easily they'll be more of a boon to designers. |
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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue Mar 20, 2007 3:28 am Post subject: Venice container project |
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| Got the call and DeMaria's Venice project is underway. First level of containers has been delivered and another level (14 containers total!) will be delivered next. I'll make another trip to LA to check it out, maybe this weekend. We're also going to the Redondo Beach house again. Stucco is on and they are painting/finishing. Any other info on Venice, Redondo, East LA or other DeMaria projects that I can check out while I'm in town? Thanks! |
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AM Putra
Joined: 24 Dec 2006
Posts: 59
Location: Indonesia
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| Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:58 am Post subject: |
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I'm waiting. Phew, It's too far to be reached here. 
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The Architect
Joined: 09 Jun 2005
Posts: 184
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| Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 1:27 am Post subject: |
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WoW!! Hate to break it to ya guys - but this has very little to do with Architecture, and more to do with a stylish fashion (redundant?). I'd love to strike up a one-on-one with the master of of containers.
Take care... |
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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Sat Mar 24, 2007 9:00 pm Post subject: unreal |
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Why is it that there is always some little guy in the cheap seats, who never gets up on the stage, but forever heckles the doers and tries to impress the audience with his wit?
Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. How is container architecture fashion?! I'm assuming that from a far, the Bauhaus school was seen as "fashion". Once you scratch the surface, you find there is far more to container based building than a surface treatment.
True, Architects in the past have created far more fancy renderings of container projects than buildings, but there is a new movement of container "doers" who are raising some compelling arguments and getting their projects built. The DeMaria projects appear to be spearheading the "doer" group and I am intrigued by the birth of this new "movement" of sort. TJCaine's comments regarding sound, insulation, etc. are about real issues of construction, not fashion! That tells you that Architects are actively engaging the realities of building, not simply cranking out "paper architecture" (projects that never get built).
The Architect's prior post is a pessimistic view on the container and I am reminded of a quote from FLW "...you see as you are, my boy." |
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archmag
Joined: 03 Jan 2007
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Sounds like "fashion" is the equivalent to profanity in the Architecture world. Call it what you like, but I think DeMaria is on to something. I contacted his office not long ago and had a decent discussion about the future of "container" based projects. The idea of recycling containers and creating a quality affordable building type is long overdue. Too often architects get wrapped up in their own little bubbles and fight over what is good design, what is fashion, what is cool, hip, the latest craze, etc.; all the while ignoring what the masses really need. Affordability and quality are what we all search for whether it be a Prius, a cup of coffee, or a bicycle. Each of these examples is a product and a product, is at the heart of what DeMaria has been laying the groundwork for. This is a huge topic that is being nurtured by very few in the profession. Fashion? maybe from the distance, but up close and inside, there is far more taking place here. I am curious about any strong opinions in support or against "...architecture as a product..." as DeMaria describes it. |
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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 6:23 am Post subject: |
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I stopped by the house in Redondo Beach. It is unreal - you've got to see it. Maybe I can get back to take some photos. The house prompted me to write this long post!
In the last month, I researched the container work by Lotek, Wes Jones, Adam Kalkin and Shigeru Ban. Ban's container work is innovative and large in scale but I can only find the Museum project - I wish there was more. Jones has achieved notoriety with containers but I couldn't find anything that he has built. It seems that many architects I've spoken with have tinkered with the container idea and many even have their own designs, but for some reason the sketches never become realized. Kalkin is another who is wildly creative and has a couple projects built on the East coast. Lotek, is a serious firm and their container projects are like high tech do-it-yourselfer projects - one of a kind and sort of cool. I'm hoping that they will continue doing their container projects. The more architects who develop this technology, the more interesting and successful work we will begin to see.
Finally... I researched what I could find on DeMaria and unlike the others, he has a wide range of projects that he is currently building with containers - residential, multi-family, commercial, religious, you name it! While the container seems fashionable for others, here is someone who talks about recycling, redeployment, and economics - all the while creating something he calls, captial "A" Architecture at an affordable price point. I've read that he isn't so concerned about the "look" of container buildings but I don't believe it. The house in Redondo is not only compeling as a container based project, it is "beautiful". I could not visualize the finished house when I saw it under construction, but now that it is done, it has incredible curb appeal. DeMaria's container projects that are being built, (Venice, Redondo, Downtown LA, ???) are distancing him from the pack. My internet research isn't bad, but I would much rather hear him talk/lecture on his container projects, budgets, schedules, war stories, etc. of how of it get's done. Hoping to hear what the future of containers is from any others across the US and their take on what is happening in Redondo. Thanks for bearing with this long post!  |
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hw
Joined: 29 Dec 2006
Posts: 8
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| Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 9:19 am Post subject: completion photo |
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Here is the latest image and a blog about this house. Super cool place and unlike any of the other container homes/buildings I've seen to date. Also, the blog comments are hitting on many different points and worth reading. Any other images out there?
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2007/05/redondo_beach_c.php |
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