Much like the Lorax who captured her childhood imagination, Sara takes to heart the view that “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” It’s therefore with great caring that, through architecture and design, she speaks for both people and trees in projects for educational and community clients. Inspired by Carlo Scarpa’s intuitive approach to design and ability to capture on paper the history of a space, she has built a career focused on conceiving solutions that positively engage with the human condition. Fundamentally, her projects are defined by her collaborative attitude and ability to blend both idealism and pragmatism, whether her work entails creating spaces to help people recover from traumatic experiences, guide children on a journey of growth and discovery, or providing various spaces for all people to thrive as they live, work, learn, and play.
To celebrate the firm's 40th anniversary, staff were challenged to share their imagination and design thinking by creating a row house concept. Here is Sara's.
Aside from its characteristic pastel colors, the Miami Art Deco style is also marked by strong horizontal datums, in the form of windows and overhangs, interrupted by extensive vertical details as a counterpoint. Buildings such as the Crescent Hotel and Hotel Breakwater were sources of inspiration. I had a few iterations of what this “vertical counterpoint” could be, but ultimately kept coming back this childlike wonder and playfulness. What’s more playful than a 3-story spiral tube slide?
