Peter DeMaria
Encyclopedia
Peter DeMaria is an American
architect
and artist
known for his non-conventional use of materials and construction/fabrication methodologies.
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art
from Kean University
in 1982 and a Master of Architecture
degree in 1986 from the University of Texas at Austin
.
's prints, McDonald's
hamburgers, and the textile block houses of Frank Lloyd Wright
. "We are reinterpreting and re-presenting the best of these processes in a different medium... a new process by which future construction projects will be delivered". His work follows no distinct style but he fuses prefabrication
, principles that were professed by Buckminster Fuller
and an experimental attitude regarding materials and systems. Like Fuller, he visualizes architecture fulfilling a critical force on the planet, "I’ve come to reject the limitations of sustainability. Sustainability isn’t enough. Our buildings must be more than simply contributors to a more environmentally conscious society—they must become functioning icons that spearhead new advances." Dwell Magazine profiled his ideas on the Future of Prefab in which he stated,
DeMaria designed the Redondo Beach House departing from the historical and traditional sense of what constitutes "architecture" and professed “...this project is the torch bearer for a new, more affordable method of design and construction — Architecture as a Product”. The AIA has lauded his work, but his ideas have faced opposition from the professional and academic world of architecture - his blending of product, industrial and architectural design into a new hybrid, challenges the norm by which architecture is practiced.
in 1992. DeMaria received the RAND Corporation's First Prize Award in their 1997 Design Competition. In 2006, DeMaria designed the Redondo Beach House, the first two story shipping container home in the U.S. With an approved structural system under the strict guidelines of the nationally recognized Uniform Building Code, the Redondo Beach House is composed of eight recycled ISO Cargo Containers
. DeMaria's design received the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Honor in Excellence Award for Innovation in 2007.,". It is a hybrid home that has received awards, has been published internationally and is recognized as the first two story cargo container based project in the United States that legally complies with the Uniform Building Code. DeMaria was the recipient of the Bank of Manhattan Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year Award in recognition of his progressive and committed business development focused on alternative building methodologies and systems. In 2008, DeMaria created Logical Homes LLC, a company that provides prefabricated homes that utilize the shipping container as the core structural elements. In 2009, his interdisciplinary ideas and work became the focus of a Lexus advertising campaign for hybrid electric vehicle
s in the automotive industry.. His design for the East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights Four Square Church
Parsonage received a 2009 American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Design Award. DeMaria has taught architecture since 1995 and is a part time faculty member in the Design Dept. at California State University at Long Beach.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
known for his non-conventional use of materials and construction/fabrication methodologies.
Early life and education
DeMaria was born in Madison, New JerseyMadison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from Kean University
Kean University
Kean University is a coeducational, public research university located in Union and Hillside, New Jersey, United States. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its...
in 1982 and a Master of Architecture
Master of Architecture
The Master of Architecture is a professional degree in architecture, qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation that result in receiving a license.-Overview:...
degree in 1986 from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
.
Architectural style
DeMaria's container based work is seen "mainly as an "experiment" at this time", said Bill Gati, a member of the American Institute of Architects Custom Residential Design Committee. "It's cutting-edge, and Architects who design with containers are considered mavericks and trail blazers,". DeMaria dedicated five years to taking the messengers of consumerism (shipping containers) and converting them into role models for an environmental and economical housing solution." He compares his creations to Andy WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
's prints, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
hamburgers, and the textile block houses of Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
. "We are reinterpreting and re-presenting the best of these processes in a different medium... a new process by which future construction projects will be delivered". His work follows no distinct style but he fuses prefabrication
Prefabrication
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located...
, principles that were professed by Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
and an experimental attitude regarding materials and systems. Like Fuller, he visualizes architecture fulfilling a critical force on the planet, "I’ve come to reject the limitations of sustainability. Sustainability isn’t enough. Our buildings must be more than simply contributors to a more environmentally conscious society—they must become functioning icons that spearhead new advances." Dwell Magazine profiled his ideas on the Future of Prefab in which he stated,
"Some people assume that yet-to-be-invented high-tech materials and systems will be the saviors of our construction industry. New technology can be great, but some of the answers to our building challenges are right in front of us. We need to look more closely at existing materials and systems from commercial construction and other industries and ask how they might be adapted, adjusted, or recycled to meet our domestic architecture needs. It’s less glamorous than creating renderings of new home designs, but we need to look at how to design efficient processes that leverage the economies of scale inherent in existing industrial components and systems."
DeMaria designed the Redondo Beach House departing from the historical and traditional sense of what constitutes "architecture" and professed “...this project is the torch bearer for a new, more affordable method of design and construction — Architecture as a Product”. The AIA has lauded his work, but his ideas have faced opposition from the professional and academic world of architecture - his blending of product, industrial and architectural design into a new hybrid, challenges the norm by which architecture is practiced.
Career and recognition
He worked for Daniel, Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall briefly in 1990, prior to starting his own practice in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1992. DeMaria received the RAND Corporation's First Prize Award in their 1997 Design Competition. In 2006, DeMaria designed the Redondo Beach House, the first two story shipping container home in the U.S. With an approved structural system under the strict guidelines of the nationally recognized Uniform Building Code, the Redondo Beach House is composed of eight recycled ISO Cargo Containers
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
. DeMaria's design received the American Institute of Architects (AIA)
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
Honor in Excellence Award for Innovation in 2007.,". It is a hybrid home that has received awards, has been published internationally and is recognized as the first two story cargo container based project in the United States that legally complies with the Uniform Building Code. DeMaria was the recipient of the Bank of Manhattan Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year Award in recognition of his progressive and committed business development focused on alternative building methodologies and systems. In 2008, DeMaria created Logical Homes LLC, a company that provides prefabricated homes that utilize the shipping container as the core structural elements. In 2009, his interdisciplinary ideas and work became the focus of a Lexus advertising campaign for hybrid electric vehicle
Hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...
s in the automotive industry.. His design for the East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights Four Square Church
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel
The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, commonly referred to as the Foursquare Church, is an evangelical Pentecostal Christian denomination. As of 2000 it had a worldwide membership of over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries. In 2006, membership in the United States...
Parsonage received a 2009 American Institute of Architects (AIA)
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
Design Award. DeMaria has taught architecture since 1995 and is a part time faculty member in the Design Dept. at California State University at Long Beach.
Works
- Neeson Residence, Hollywood Hills, CAHollywood HillsThe Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
, 1995 - RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CASanta MônicaSanta Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, 1997 - Amor Road Residence, Hollywood Hills, CAHollywood HillsThe Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
, 2002 - Redondo Beach House, Redondo Beach, CARedondo BeachRedondo Beach may refer to:*Redondo Beach, California, USA*Redondo Beach, Washington, USA, a small board-walk beach in Des Moines, Washington*Redondo Beach , by Patti Smith and covered by Morrissey*Redonda Beach, a similarly named place in Portugal...
, 2007 - East Los Angeles Four Square Church Parsonage, Boyle Heights, CA, 2009