Stern abroad - Home front: tips and trends from the world of residential design

Residential Architect, August, 2003 by Meghan Drueding

Custom-home commissions in exotic locales are nothing new; for years now they've entertained house architects eager to decipher arcane building customs and sample global cuisines. But these days, there's also a growing international market for more complex residential design, and a budding taste for the homegrown vision of housing that Americans have to offer. Robert A.M. Stern, FAIA, is one architect riding the wave of international commissions, many of them involving foreign urban centers. He's got housing projects going in the Netherlands, Canada, and Germany. "We're asked to bid elsewhere because we bring an American perspective to the table," Stern says. "Our clients want that." Here's a look at his export portfolio--four projects on the boards.

arnhem, netherlands arnhem city center

In Arnhem, Stern and his staff were charged with the task of filling in the gaps between the old and new parts of the city center to create a more cohesive urban fabric. They mixed new buildings containing ground-floor retail and upper-floor housing with existing 19th and early 20th century buildings. And they designed a market square to help invigorate the city, connecting it to a nearby shopping center through a glass arcade. Rather than mimicking historic Arnhem, the firm's buildings possess a sense of scale and proportion that complements their context.

developer: AM Development, Gouda, Netherlands associate architect: T T Design. Gouda housing units in project: 40 scheduled date of completion: spring 2006

heiligendamm, germany demmler palais

Heiligendamm, the first resort town in Germany, was designed by some of the country's best architects during the 1800s. It's lost a bit of its luster over the years, and Stern intends to bring Heiligendamm back to its original glory while expanding it to accommodate more residents and visitors. The Demmler Palais is one element of the firm's master plan. It's a new, 161,500-square-foot luxury apartment building that blends stylistically with the existing village, often known as the "white town by the sea."

developer: Fundus. Berlin associate architect: to be determined housing units in project: 100 scheduled date of completion: to be determined

berlin residence at quartier am tacheles

The classical New York apartment buildings in Stern's portfolio helped his firm nab the commission for a high-end multifamily project in a rundown section of Berlin. The building's site is the largest parcel in a master plan by Duany Plater-Zyberk of Miami. "The client is very sophisticated and well traveled," Stern says. "They requested a New York-style apartment house." The architects complied with a 79-unit luxury building containing a private garden courtyard for all residents, ground-floor retail shops, and rooftop terraces.

developer: Fundus, Berlin associate architect: Maedebach, Redeleit, & Partners, Berlin housing units in project: 79 scheduled date of completion: late 2005

toronto one st. thomas street

Ever since Stern and his staff did a house in Toronto seven years ago, they'd wanted to work in the city again. Then this opportunity to design a high-end condominium tower came along. "It's in a marvelous downtown location," says Stern. The client's commitment to quality allowed the architects to design details--like cast stone pilasters and cornices--reminiscent of grand apartment buildings in the U.S. and Canada during the 1920s and '30s. A stone base anchors the 28-story building and eases the transition into an adjoining series of three-story town houses, also designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

developer: Lee Development Group, Scarborough, Ontario associate architect: Young Wright Architect, Toronto housing units in project: 100 (including six town houses) scheduled date of completion: spring 2006