Word: arquitectonica
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...more than a decade: the adventurous geometry of "late modernists" such as I.M. Pei and Edward Larrabee Barnes; the office atrium pioneered by Kevin Roche; the glass- , enclosed elevators popularized by John Portman's Hyatt hotel designs; and the spirited use of color epitomized by the Miami firm Arquitectonica. The German-born Jahn, 45, an architect celebrated--some would say notorious--for his arch flourishes with high-tech elements, had applied some of the same ideas in his own earlier work, notably his 1982 First Source Center atrium in South Bend, Ind. Moreover, in such designs as his witty...
...silver-plate candlesticks and bowls ($125 to $350). The collection shuns traditional five-piece place settings for eclectic offerings. There is, for instance, Venturi's complex "Grandmother," a pastel floral print overlaid with bold black dashes. "Miami Beach," by Spear, a partner in Florida's brash Arquitectonica firm, mixes soft-colored blobs and a bright red bar. Chicago's Tigerman, known for his theatrical home designs, created "Sunshine," in which bold colors interplay with a cartoon-cute pink angel. The elegant and evocative "Majestic," by Stern, a professor of architecture at Columbia University, combines art deco gilt...
...Arquitectonica's other principals are Spear's husband Bernardo Fort-Brescia, 32, and Hervin A.R. Romney, 43. The firm's Spanish name is apt, and not only because the buildings show a frisky Latin bravado. Fort-Brescia was born in Peru, and Romney is from Cuba. All three partners, however, are the products of Ivy League schools. Founded only seven years ago, Arquitectonica already has a staff of 29 in its Miami headquarters and has opened offices in Houston and New York City...
...Manhattan, Arquitectonica faced the problem of considerably enlarging a seven-story brick apartment house without disturbing it. The solution: a slim, new, 35-story tower that straddles the old building. The new building is abruptly interrupted by a kind of roof garden with a domed swimming pool and a jogging track. Arquitectonica plans to deck out the building's façade in a bold, Mari-mekko-like pattern of white glass, black marble and red-enameled metal...
...main drawback of Arquitectonica's visually noisy modernism is that it does not get along easily with older, more urbane neighbors. One also shudders at the thought of mediocre imitations of Arquitectonica's audacity. It is inimitable. Only the young team's unique combination of skills could bring such fresh appeal and energy to the architectural scene. -By Wolf Von Eckardt