Harmonizing craft, tradition and resilience amidst the lush Caribbean landscape.

The developer / builder for the Sint Maarten Townhomes approached us with the challenge of creating a new Caribbean architecture that could address three competing demands. First, a new Caribbean architecture needed to be sustainable in the face of the regular devastating hurricanes (Sint Maarten has a habit of finding itself in the eye-wall of the largest hurricanes on earth). Second, a new Caribbean architecture needed to embrace the abilities of the local builders and regionally available materials. Third, a new Caribbean architecture needed to have traces and knowledge of the vernacular and historic ways of living and building on the islands.

The result is a building primarily made from local concrete but pigmented to express its sense of place instead of covered with low grade parging that is easily damaged with salt air exposure and blown off in storms. The other primary material is angelim which is a hard wood species comparable to ipe and able to be sourced regionally. The result is a new palette of amber and leathery red subdued tones which are all natural and nod to the brightly painted traditional buildings on the island.

Spatially the entire building is organized within a protective shell. Once inside, massive landscape sized spaces are organized for program but also for passive ventilation, self shading, and privacy. The lower level of each unit is terraced to follow the slope of the site with a U-shaped kitchen arranged around a small table — the traditional kitchen layout on the island. The terracing of the ground floor and inner courtyard and balconies on the second, relay a feeling of the original two and three-story bungalows on the island. On the second floor, the underside of the concrete shell is clad in angelim such that the ceiling of each bedroom is reminiscent of the wooden bungaloo roofs familiar to those from the islands.