A multi-media artist belonging to an established community of artisans working in the Hudson valley area wanted an addition designed for a farmhouse on a small wooded property adjoining an open expanse of grazing fields framed by horse farm barns.The house consisted of two contrasting parts joined together, a two-story masonry structure and a one-story wood structure. The design challenge was to expand the livable area of the wood-framed structure while not altering the original building envelope, because the owner loved the weathered look of the rustic home.

Together, Milestone’s Margaret Matz and William Lenart of Axis Design and Planning met the client’s requirements. They added an oversized dormer with an extensive glass surface area, which provided the additional livable room by reclaiming attic space over the one-story wood structure. This maintained the original
building profile while providing generous connectivity with the beautiful rustic site.

As the budget was extremely challenging, the financing plan included provision for the dormer glazing to be fabricated by a local artisan who worked with steel. In this respect, the project, completed in 1990, was precociously adopting sound principles of sustainable design.

The design for the Association Officina Marinoni, research-based in the disciplines of Architectural and Urban Design and Psychology, begins with the premise that, owing to the influences of the cultures with which Venice interacted and to the city’s adaptation to its lagoon landscape, a Venetian paradigm historically has made and is still making anything possible in Venice proper. Venice has historically been at the forefront of imagining civic space and this design extends that tradition in our contemporary times. 

It does so through two catalysts, external influences and internal adaptations, which act on the architectural partie. The design offers the revitalized cultural centre access both from the lagoon waterways as well as by the circulation spines of the Via Lungomare Gabriele d’Anunzio and the Via Marco Polo. Dual conduit means by sea and land converge on a campus of repurposed civic buildings that are interconnected by a matrix of excavated walkways and waterways.  

Beyond the competition requirements, innovative activities are inserted with the program to address the actual needs of the permanent local as well as the temporary tourist populations. One of these, an emergency care facility on a movable barge, could be docked at multiple locations throughout the lagoon; another, an open-air theatre within a retention landscape could host the Venice film festival screenings. Others such as the landscape incisions and the programmatic voids are resilient measures for the future conditions. 

Carmelo Pomodoro was one of the most promising fashion designers of his generation. With additional talents in acting, photography, architecture, and painting, he envisioned a showroom for Carmelo Pomodoro Sportswear Ltd. as a boldly theatrical space - a setting to highlight and complement his clothing styles, which featured draped fabric, simple lines, unusual textures, and almost no color.

The showroom had to have a runway, four separate areas to highlight the fashions of each season, and a production area for sewing sample designs. The constraints imposed by a minimal budget inspired the architects - Margaret Matz of Axis Architecture, Design and Planning, in a joint venture with FTL Design Engineering Studio - to create unusual design strategies; for example, no doors and no field cutting of construction materials.

The result satisfied all the client's requirements. Open-ended, slightly bowed wood walls defined the clothing display area. Fabric panels over ceiling lighting formed triangular canopies, and display tables had elliptical glass tops. Moveable curved panels of buffed and lacquered steel allowed the space to be reconfigured at different times to highlight current fashion samples.

Simply Smiles is a not-for-profit organization that provides bright futures for impoverished children, their families, and their communities. From the mountains of Mexico to the prairies of the American west, the unique and holistic Simply Smiles approach has proven to be: impactful - sustainable - scalable - and successful.

The Swiss pharmaceutical firm Ciba-Geigy had a US office, plant, and data center in an older industrial building in Ardsley, New York. Its underground vault housed antiquated transformers and switch gear that required upgrading and modernization. Milestone’s Margaret Matz, then a principal with Axis Design & Planning, led a team of consultants and electrical engineers charged with designing a structure to house the new equipment on a very constricted site adjacent to the existing building.

The challenges this project presented were to maintain operation of the existing equipment while the annex structure was being built, accommodate all the new equipment required, and provide rooftop access for future replacement of a diesel-powered backup generator, in a way that would makeit both serviceable and secure.

The team designed a column-free space modeled on the construction systems of the existing building. A feature of the design was a removable roof assembly over the area of the backup generator. A trussed structural system, using both top and bottom chords that couldsupport and distribute the weight of the roof, was specified. Thus, the roof could be removed in one piece to allow a new generator to be lowered into the building.The team also defined an equipment layout for the new space, creating a footprint that would permitoptimal servicing of new high- and low-voltage switch gear and avoid conflict with the existing underground vaults.

Milestone prepared conceptual designs for a proposed Innovative Waster Water Treatment Center for a European firm. The design challenge for the new innovative waste water treatment plant, in Staten Island, NY, and for the alternative site, in Brooklyn, NY, is to invite the community to engage with the main new building on the site and to reclaim a part of the the industrialized area for public use. The design’s many amenities will attract the residents to the site.

In 2008, the House of Nehesi Publishers, located on the Caribbean island of St. Martin, together with the University of St. Martin, invited Milestone’s Margaret Matz to participate in their sixth annual Book Fair by giving a presentation on sustainable architecture in the Caribbean. The impetus for the topic was the two sponsors’ growing concern about recent and rapid overdevelopment by the tourism industry on St. Martin.

The lecture and visual presentation was in two parts. First, a brief history of environmental movements in the USA and the world and a brief history of Caribbean architecture, highlighting the traditional indigenous architecture and its African and European influences. Second, a synthesis of sustainable architectural principles practiced in the USA and the world and a summary of residential housing and community-center architectural typologies, based on the principles relevant to the Caribbean.

The audience at the fair comprised every segment of the population of St. Martin, as well as participants from Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Martinique, Nigeria, and the US. The lecture prompted an engaged and lively discussion on such issues as: Are food cultivation gardens being included in current residential projects? Is traditional architecture inherently more sustainable than modern architecture? Is sustainable architecture in essence political? This was followed by a transfer of professional knowledge among the architects, engineers, and environmental consultants.

Certain of the images above were used in the lecture by permission from the copyright owners. #3, emergency shelters for St. George’s, Grenada, designed by Global Village LLC; published in Architecture for Humanity, Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crisis, Metropolis Books, 2006.   #6, Furgovilla House, designed by Daniel Pons; published in "4 Visiones de Arquitectura Contemporanea," Arquitexto, 2004.

The Po'Num dance was originally performed in 1848 upon the emancipation of the slaves of St. Martin, and had been a traditional dance of the island's people ever since. However, due to cultural shifts, the dance was in danger of dying out; this prompted Ms. Clara Reyes to thoroughly research the origins of the dance and its steps, in the interest of preserving it for the enjoyment of future generations. This research resulted in a comprehensive text, which was completed in 2003. In the spring of 2013, Milestone was approached to produce illustrations of the Po'Num dance, based on photographs of dancers performing the steps, and to design what will be the only academic text currently available on this subject. A collaboration with the Dance Notation Bureau resulted in the addition of technical dance notation, ultimately creating a definitive documentation of and guide to a cultural art that might otherwise have been forgotten. The book will be published in 2014.

James Madison University is an educational institution in Virginia that specializes in foreign affairs. For its annual East Meets West conference in 2009, it commissioned Milestone’s Margaret Matz to deliver a lecture focused on the interface between eastern and western cultures, as expressed in architecture and literature.

The lecture, entitled “Asian Influence on Venetian Architecture 1100–1500 AD,” was adapted from ongoing research for a book about medieval innovations in architectural typologies, based on Marco Polo’s book Il Milione, written at the end of the 13th century. Structured to reflect the progression of Marco Polo’s travels from Venice to Asia and back, the project examines Venetian architecture through the paradigm of Venetian interaction with Near and Middle Eastern, Central Asian, Far East Asian, Indian, and nomadic cultures. It explores cultural transformations in relation to architectural transformations, the process that led to architectural innovation, and the relevance of innovation for our contemporary culture.

New material prepared for the conference focused on intercultural literary relations and numerous graphics juxtaposing aspects of the various cultures’ works of art and architecture. Architect Charles Matz was the graphics editor. Research assistance was provided by Yoseph Shair and Jonathan Wittaker.

The presentation was well received, and Milestone has been invited to participate in the University’s 2012 conference, for which we will be designing a proscenium for the staging of Puccini’s opera Le Villi.

Milestone’s staff was not only the architects and designers, but also both the client and the end user for this project, which is located in a New York City high-rise building on the border between the financial district and Battery Park. The staff needed two functional configurations for the main working space: a working and breakout area that could accommodate up to ten people at a time, and a dining and living area for hosting social events. A smaller residential space adjoined the main space.

The design objective was to incorporate elements from multiple cultures, and the design team was asked to articulate the project using sustainable design principles. The team selected de-mountable furniture and moveable partitions – nomadic furniture, so the design elements could be moved from one functional configuration to the other. Modern designs for the bookcase, screens, and fabrics that furnished the project were based on the abstracted geometry of various Near and Middle East, Central, South and Far East Asian designs.

Advanced computer software was used to visualize the 1100-square-foot space in perspective, study its complex multiple functions, and anticipate any potential conflicts between the two functional schemes. The abundant natural light and high ceilings of the space lent itself easily to various planning layouts. Environmentally friendly and reused materials, low-energy-consuming lighting and plumbing fixtures were specified. All decisions were made by consensus according to the collaborative project management system known as “charrettes,” which is characteristic of the sustainable design process.

The Swedish Seamen’s Church was established in 1873 in New York City to serve seafarers and resident Scandinavians. Its present location in midtown Manhattan is a brownstone built in 1981 and altered to a neo-Gothic form in 1921. In addition to religious services, the church’s activities include many community service functions, such as a library, a small café open to the public, a children’s day care area, and a roof terrace used for social events.

The church came to Axis Architecture, Design and Planning’s Margaret Matz and her colleague William Lenart, urgently needing repairs to the building’s leaking roof and its supporting structure, which was failing, as was the stairwell bulkhead that led to the roof.

The project’s budget and time frame were both tight. To accelerate the schedule and minimize risks, the design team took on construction management of the project, serving as liaison between the client and the contractors.The needed minor structural repairs to the building’s limestone masonry façade were made with ecologically friendly materials and methods. And the work on the roof offered an opportunity not only to improve its physical condition but also to make it a more attractive space for the church’s social uses. The design and construction teams increased the walkable surface by replacing traditional skylights with glass paver skylights. They also installed shading devices and custom benches for more comfortable seating, and put up safety railings.

Nuova Arena di Verona, is a project that is intended to be constructed in Verona, Italy. This project aims to be an urban facility which will include a new multi-purpose stadium mainly dedicated to the practice of football. The City of Verona established that its original stadium should be replaced by this new mixed-use project. The new structure will house different types of uses, such as a hotel, museum, co-working offices, a theater, among many others. The stadium will have a capacity of about 27,000 thousand spectators as well as about 3,000 provisional seats that will be used for football matches of high importance. There was also an existing stadium with a capacity of 8,000 seats that will remain in situ unaffected along with a new provisional stadium that will seat about 16,000 persons. Milestone Architecture collaborated with developer Juego de Pelota in preparing a masterplan, a feasibility report as well as a financial plan for this project. The project is estimated at 80 million euro, and it is scheduled to open in 2023. The professional fees amounted to $17,000 and the master planning phase lasted 2 months.

A multi-cultural joint venture based on the use of cutting-edge technology and the collaboration of the Curia Patriarcale; restorer, Francesco Grimaldi; architect, Paolo Tocchi; structural engineer, Andrea Grimaldi; Milestone Architecture PLLC and photographer, Deborah Garwood; sees the Torcello site through contemporary eyes and through the frame of laser scanners that were used to survey. Other patrons, designers, builders, and restorers saw the Torcello site before Milestone Architecture and althrough different frames: different frames included the internal profile of the basilica, the wall surfaces on which its artwork was placed, the frame of the paper edges, camera lenses and photographic print paper. Previous survey markers from about a decade ago, which were inset into the exterior and interior walls of the church, are still the best vantage points. Thus Milestone’s use of them, while conducting the current survey with laser-scanning technology, demonstrates how this project forges links to the past and respect for historical continuity. The novel aspect in this method regards the opportunity of enhancing the measurements by new coloration, magnification, perspective and the possibility for the results to be displayed and thus viewed digitally thereby making the images of Torcello widely accessible. This process of recording images of the elements of the Torcello site forms a continuum that links past, present, and future, and it is described in this study for all interested persons and illustrated by accompanying presentations. The history of the Torcello site thus explained will permit participation in the task of safeguarding the structures of the site now and for the future.

Beyond the Grid is a pro-bono based collective of experts in engineering, architecture, communications, and community development working in partnership with community organizations and residents. The team is creating a scalable “microgrid” based on distributed energy generation on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The goal of this project is to create an “Internet of Electricity” that is owned and operated by a scalable community utility cooperative that will maintain power and communications in times of crisis and fair weather.
This proposal is meant to solve some of the problems that occur during power outages, whether natural or human caused. Currently residents and small businesses have no means to safely shelter-in-place or maintain communications to share information or seek help. Beyond the grid proposes the use of alternative energy sources to retrofit residential and commercial buildings and critical facilities to create a microgrid that provides electricity and heat independent of the main utility grid. The microgrid functions full time along with the main utility grid with the capacity to operate in “island mode” safely isolating itself during grid outages.
Beyond the Grid partners residents, community organizations, small businesses and agencies to create a community based energy and communications network. By installing energy efficient combined heating and power (CHP) and renewable energy systems, the proposal will reduce carbon emissions and give buildings the capability to function during power outages. These green energy sources will power a resilient community wireless network. In addition to these retrofits, Beyond the Grid proposes barriers to protect buildings from flooding and extreme weather. The proposal also includes ways of providing necessary information to the community in times of crisis and fair weather.

This design for the Bamiyan Cultural Centre is based on sustainable design principles and it is inherently innovative through its use of contemporary environmental technology. Simultaneously, it is also inherently conservative through its use of ancient construction technology from the region. The paradigm through which the design team views this project is based on two seemingly paradoxical concepts, one an environmental reference and the other a historical reference, that coexist. The design engenders vitality in the community by inviting participants from diverse age groups, it integrates views to the Bamiyan valley by framing perspectives through the voids in the mass of the building envelope.

In the plan for the design, the site is bounded by walls of pakhsa and the main entrance is located at a higher grade, where a stone road intersects a gravel road that runs parallel to the site east wall; the secondary entrance is located at the lower grade level further along the gravel road. The site includes parking, within the enclosure of the perimeter’s walls, and a pedicab stand, in the inset area beyond the perimeter’s walls. The pedicab service provides local transportation access to the center and local employment to the community.
The principal facades of the buildings are oriented to the east and west to reduce solar energy loss, in the winter, and solar energy gain, in the summer. Solar thermal was augmented with heating, in winter, and cooling, in summer, by the use of a geothermal heat pump and a distribution system of under-floor piping. Solar energy is proposed through the use of photovoltaic panels mounted on the flat roofs of the buildings. The use of this technology offers low operational costs that offset its high capital costs and eliminate reliance on fossil fuel as an energy resource.

A New York City based women’s fashion boutique founded in 2007, was emerging into New York’s competitive fashion market. The boutique is privately owned by a fashion company that creates exceptionally crafted handbags for consumers seeking versatility, distinction, and unique style. The company proudly decided to produce each season’s collectively in New York City, the city the founder both lives in and loves.

 The founder requested a conceptual design for a flagship store to be located in New York City’s meatpacking district to fulfill the requirements of the projections of their business plan. She wanted an interactive area with a relaxing lounge space, a beautiful merchandise area and a space having both visual and kinetic appeal. Milestone Architecture PLLC proposed a plan arrangement that fulfilled the key concept of providing a workshop area where customers could individualize the accessories and including a showroom area where accessories could be displayed.

Yumesaki USA is an offshoot of a Japanese textile company. For the large textile showroom it was opening in New York, it wanted a crisply futuristic design that could accommodate varying degrees of privacy for staff and clients, and present an uncluttered and inviting setting for the display of its brilliantly varied wares. A tight budget and limited time frame for the project was a welcome challenge for Milestone’s Margaret Matz, at that time a principal in the firm of Axis Architecture, Design and Planning, and her colleague William Lenart.

The centerpiece of the design program for Yumesaki was a set of sweeping, free standing, curvilinear screens that would enclose the principal display area. Throughout the showroom they specified clean lines and simple materials in their most natural state, to produce a richly varied environment that would convey an air of serenity and mystery.

The designers’ instinctive understanding of the client’s vision and their close working relationship with the contractor made it possible to bring the showroom to vibrant life within six weeks’ time and a modest budget.