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This was the first time I worked with a digital camera, thanks to the fact that one of my friends had one handy. It’s been my goal with color photography to take abstract images, which is not an easy task, but then again, that’s where the satisfaction comes.

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As we start to recover from the physical and emotional devastation of Hurricane Sandy, solutions emerge. There is the immediate need for food and shelter and there is a call to action for preparedness in the future. Being ready for a possible eventuality comes in many ways; one of them is awareness. What are the environmental ramifications of our choices, for example? We can act with conscience and the desire to protect the environment.

Change starts at home and it’s the efforts of many individuals that amount to significant change over time. Much has done for the sake of progress and innovation and in the process, the environment is ransacked and neglected. With awareness comes change, which is at the core of sustainability.

In 2009, I was part of a group of people in the construction industry-a developer, a contractor, architects, engineers, interior designers and community leaders, who realize changes at home are necessary. As such, we created the GreenHouse, a work of architecture, engineering and interior designers who embraced the need to lead in a sustainable direction of environmental responsibility.

In “For Green’s Sake, Part 1,” I discussed the design of the Spa/Retreat designed by Studio Santalla. Let’s look at the results.

Economy of means is at the core of sustainability. How can the the minimum achieve the maximum? During the day, natural light is used to the maximum, for example. Did I mention it’s free?

The tall curb contains the water for the re-circulating waterfall fixture by Kohler, which has been unfortunately discontinued. And yes, the light fixture by Fontana Arte inside the shower meets code. It’s above the minimum height required.

The balcony guard rail by 3Form is made from recycled plastic.

Ceramic floors and wall tiles, supplied by Architectural Ceramics are durable and require minimum maintenance.

The Powder Room has water efficient fixtures by Kohler, a cedar slab countertop, a piece of art made from junk mail, You Meet Certain Criteria, by Aurora Robson, represented by Project 4, and towels made from unbleached Irish linen.

A simple stair rail leads to the second floor office space. The hanging piece is “Danae” by Barbara Josephs Liotta.

The coffee table, made from corrugated cardboard is by Leo Kempf. “Grassland” is a commentary on grass as a a “foreign” object. The credenza, designed by Studio Santalla is made of Kirei, a recycled wood product and Paper Stone; built by Wooden Design.

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Grass isn’t Green; as in it’s not environmentally friendly. It requires constant irrigation, maintenance and as a landscape material, it does not help retain rain water, which can be used for purposes where potable water is typically employed.

I haven’t heard anyone dispute the above statement, but as the discussion on Sustainability rages on, the solutions to undo the damage we’ve inflicted on the earth become increasingly complex and debated.

It’s interesting that the USGBC, United States Green Building Council, one of the top entities to set guidelines for sustainability has set standards for just about everything except residential interiors. Yes, there is a lot of guidelines that cross over from other areas, but you can build a home that achieves and even surpasses the criteria and achieve certification according to the LEED rating system, but fill it with toxic items that may affect the health and wellbeing of the occupants.

In 2009, this issue was addressed by a group of interior designers and one architect, yours truly. It took the form of a designer showhouse within the context of the first Carbon Neutral, single family home built on the East Coast, known as the Greenhouse in McLean, Virginia. At the helm of the project were Mark Lowham of WestGroup as Developer, Mark Turner of Green Spur as General Contractor, Michael Day of Cunningham-Quill Architects as Project Architect and Deanna Belli and Victoria Sabo of CharityWorks. The former Spaces magazine was the media partner.

Studio Santalla designed the Spa/Retreat. We were one of 17 firms selected to participate from over 80 entries. As the house was still in construction, we were able to have our hand in shaping the architecture of the space. Here’s a sketch of our final design.

The space serves as a pool house, office and outdoor covered patio and has a separate entrance.

The Spa/Retreat is organized around the shower, a two-story shaft at the center of the space, clad in cedar. Water is the source of life, and wood represents growth and renewable resources. The perimeter of the space is occupied by a relaxation area with and a soaking tub. A wood stair wraps around the wood shaft to the office space on the upper level, designed by Skip Sroka of Sroka Design. To allow natural light to the upstairs, we added a balcony outside the office and by reducing the overall amount of wall originally planned for the space, a larger skylight could be installed. At the backside of the Retreat is the    covered patio, designed by Dee Thornton of Houseworks Interiors.

The space under construction:

The entry from the main house

Up next: the results.

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While the ongoing debate on what constitutes good design will ensue until the day humans no longer play a part of it, I’d like to state a premise: taste and good design are not mutually exclusive. There is some really good design I don’t care for, but that doesn’t take away from it’s merit. I’ll use architect Michael Graves‘ household artifacts for Target as an example. They are well designed; just not for me. He’s also an excellent architect, whose work I admire, but mostly don’t like.

Michael Graves Toaster for Target

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

Fast forward to the Industrial Revolution and the accompanying breakthroughs in manufacturing, transportation and building technology, resulting in an apparent break with tradition in the form of what is commonly referred to as the Modern Movement in Architecture. Twentieth century architect, Le Corbusier, in his manifesto, “Towards An Architecture,” defined a fundamental shift in how we would interact with buildings, arising from a new architecture based on function and an aesthetic based on pure form. Over a hundred years later, part of our daily bread, these ideas aren’t radical anymore. In fact, there is a lot of in common between Le Corbusier and Vitruvius.

Villa Savoie by Le Corbusier

The digital age has made the unthinkable constructible. Enter Frank Gehry, whose work defies modernism, structure, our notions of space and redefine what is good, to say the least of what we like. At first, I thought of his work as junkyards, but am now a convert to his deconstructed buildings.

Gehry and Partners’ Disney Concert Hall

Vitruvius substantiated and inspired architects during the Renaissance. Le Corbusier said he applied the same principles to everything he designed as does Michael Graves. Frank Gehry’s work has redefined the profession. These are masters of Design. Their work sets the bar for good design.

I don’t think Target will be asking Gehry to design a titanium toaster, but maybe Lady Gaga needs some new wardrobe ideas.

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Delusions of grandeur aside, I’m fortunate to have a great space, which is home to our office. Located on one of the busiest and also loudest intersections in Georgetown, it is an oasis of calm and comfort.

It was empty of books at the time of my first visit, but I immediately identified it as the place for our new office. Rather dark, dingy and musty, it needed to be revamped as an office space for an architectural and interior design studio.

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In 1998 I went to Spain, the birthplace of my grandfather Manuel Santalla. The first city I visited was Barcelona. I immediately fell in love with this city of grand boulevards nestled between the ocean and the mountains.

Through my architectural history courses I was well acquainted with the work of Antoni Gaudí, the city’s architect poster child. Initially his work made me and my classmates giggle and considered the buildings bizarre, unattractive and quite frankly, ugly. Soon, however, we understood that in reality Gaudí was a genius, whose mastery of space, form, structure, surface and light rightfully earned him a rightful place in the architectural Pantheon.

The Casa Batlló and the Casa Milà were located within steps of my hotel on the Passeig de Gràcia. They are exquisitely preserved. Casa Battló is a private building, so I snuck in and got to see the courtyard, adorned with ceramic tiles creating a gradation from white to the deepest of blues as it rises to meet the sky. Parts of the Casa Milà are open to the public, including a roof terrace where all the flues and otherwise visual nuisances are architecturally integrated to become a magical landscape.

Here are some images, courtesy of Wikipedia and various other internet sources, of the Casa Milà.

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The Lobby was re-envisioned as an extension of the exterior, with fine woods, stones and metals. An existing marble staircase and plaster ceiling were restored.

Once the major renovation and restoration work was completed, the firm was engaged to design a number of the office spaces, which became my foray into the world of commercial interiors.

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A few summers ago, I received a call from Drew Porterfield,  Gallery Director at Long View Gallery in Washington, DC to invite me to participate in an upcoming show. “Informed Design” was an illustration of how art and design relate. I was immediately drawn to the project and accepted the invitation.

This project became a vehicle to illustrate in a vignette how all the elements that go in to a design contribute to the whole and how it all comes together is as important as any of the components.

I started by considering the space and the parameters. I limited my “interventions” to three surfaces-two walls and the floor. Being a temporary exhibit, I could not make permanent changes to the space, so one of the themes I worked with was weightlessness. The design revolves around two pieces of art, which were created for the exhibit. I used the back wall of the gallery as a backdrop to a hanging sculpture by Barbara Josephs Liotta. In contrast to the serenity and quietude of this piece, Ralph Turturro painted a series of canvases that when combined, measure almost thirty feet long. The floor completes the composition, using pattern to emphasize the movement through the gallery and give the space subtle definition.

I think it’s time to show pictures.
First, the gallery space as seen from outside.

Barbara Josephs Liotta’s piece “Cleia” is set off by the shape and color of the wall behind it, which I was allowed to paint. Upon entering the gallery, the eye was immediately drawn to this piece. In the foreground a wood bench I designed for the exhibit, which the critic who reviewed the exhibit loved for its “reptilian qualities.”