BACKPalm Beach Cottages & Gardens - March 2008
"You have office in New York, Charleston and Palm Beach. Why here?
Anne grew up in Honolulu and is very comfortable with the style of living in the tropics, so it was a natural location for us to open an office. Besides, we spent our honeymoon here! Also Palm Beach is one of the very few places that is deeply interested in its architectural heritage. The town has done a wonderful job of preservation.
You define your work as "traditional for a modern world." Can you explain that philosophy?
Every generation has adapted traditions of their own, but tradition is merely a collection of successful experiments that work - whether on a practical or an aesthetic level. We believe that proper proportion, order and scale transcends style and that architecture should be "of the place" not necessarily "of its time."
If you can build a dream home for yourself in Palm Beach, what would be like?
Our dream house would connect seamlessly to the outdoors. It would have broad eaves and high ceilings for natural cooling and would be built around a courtyard, like a Roman house. In fact, we are designing this house right now for a client. It has a beautiful site with a view to a small private island with a footbridge-heaven!
Finish this sentence: We always cringe when we see...
...buildings designed by architects who don't have classic training. There are lots of moldings installed upside down here!
What would be a dream project?
We would love to be given an exotic project by an adventurous client a new commercial infill building [a structure to fill a vacant urban lot] on Peruvian Avenue would be wonderful! Or how about an oceanfront casino?
What are some of your favorite innovations in design and architecture today?
We applaud the green initiatives that are present today, but we aren't off-the-grid green architects. Luckily, there is so much green technology and tried and tested traditional methods of construction.
What are some of your favorite resources here?
Dixie Highway for furnishings and decorative objects. Lars Bolander has a wonderful eye and we also like N.P. Trent. There are some very good workrooms here and several excellent decorators. Palm Beach is a miniature New York in terms of resources!"
- Jami Supsic
