TSW Participates in Las Catalinas Architectural Design Charrette

November 2008

View Project Cut Sheet (499 K)

Continuing our design and master planning work on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast at Las Catalinas, TSW recently participated in an exciting and very productive architectural design charrette. During the seven day work session, over 34 house plans with elevations, a full-service beach club, and nine suite hotel for Phase One and Zero were created in order to fit into and amplify one of the most pedestrian-oriented and intricate master plans TSW has devised. Bill Tunnell and Christopher Leerssen, attending for TSW, provided master planning and architecture design, while Lew Oliver Inc. - Whole Town Solutions and its cadre of international architects focused on the architectural expressions of the new town. Also joining the design team and providing invaluable input was Douglas Duany, a seasoned landscape architect and preeminent urban designer (and historian).

One of the best ways to sum up the week’s design response is in a word: site. There are numerous challenging issues to surmount at this location: steep topography, tropical climate in all its facets, "style," protected trees, car-free living, zoning setbacks, ecological pathways, stunning views, and the list goes on. The strong collaboration and robust dialogue between the master plan, urban design, client, architecture, realtors, local architects, resulted at the end of the charrette in a holistic, ecological design and new town that truly fits and will provide enjoyment for generations.

A very productive and useful tool that TSW employed for the design testing of these first few phases was SketchUp, an intuitive and nimble 3-D modeling tool. The client and developer, Charles Brewer, has greatly enjoyed and appreciated his ability to "fly" to various balconies and loggias to ascertain views all the while the design team has understood the three-dimensionality of the site and resultant urbanism significantly better with the modeling tool. While on charrette, TSW mocked up each house and building with the schematic elevations and using the real-time floor plans so that each day the model progressed with more and more of the actual design making the town come alive.