SPG Architects

This beautiful Costa Rican house is completely off-grid and fully powered by solar panels, proving that luxury and elegance do not have to be compromised for sustainability.

Bringing innovation and individual style to each of its projects-- everything from multi-million dollar homes in the United States to a village compound in Rwanda.

The mid-sized architectural firm, based in New York City, is headed by Caroline (Coty) N. Sidnam and Eric Gartner. Sidnam opened the firm in 1980, focusing on residential design throughout the Northeast. Gartner came aboard in 1989 and became a partner in 1993, bringing with him a valued relationship with Polo Ralph Lauren. The retail clothing giant became familiar with Gartner’s abilities when he worked on the design of the company’s Polo Sport flagship store in Manhattan. The affiliation with Polo Ralph Lauren gave SPG an entry into the retail marketplace, helping it to immediately diversify its offerings.

            Today, the company serves a wide variety of clients with regional, national and international projects that include co-op and condominium apartments, urban townhouses, second homes, corporate offices and retail establishments as well as free-standing houses and residential compounds. Corporate clients range from Polo Ralph Lauren and Time Warner to COTY Beauty and America Online.

            SPG takes a modernistic approach to all of its designs, using light and form to create tactile and visual experiences. The firm’s designs represent not only current architectural thinking but also current methodologies and materials. “We enjoy the process,” Gartner says. “We have our heart in our mission.”

Part of that mission includes the company’s commitment to the environment and sustainability. Gartner, a LEED Accredited Professional, is currently heading up a multi-building project in Rwanda for the not-for-profit organization Kageno Worldwide. The project includes building a community center as well as health care, educational and eco-tourist facilities.

            The modern, forward-thinking concept for the project had an intentional message for the community – a better future is coming. “We wanted to help them fill a need that existed,” explains Gartner. “For example, the nearest health care was a four- to six-hour walk. This is an area that has AIDS issues as well as malnutrition and other health concerns.”

            Health care is just one component of the project. It also focuses on expanding classrooms for orphans and children of orphans and building a community center where women of the village can learn skills and crafts. “The center will also function as a community gathering area,” Gartner says. “It has a computer center and a library.”

            The final component of the project will be an eco-tourist center situated near a large national park with a primate population. “It’s an ideal place to bring in cash flow,” Gartner says, adding that the people of the village are committed to the entire project. “They have donated land and will be staffing the facilities. They are building a community. It’s all very exciting.”

            Sidnam is also vested in conservation and health-related issues. She is a trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society as well as the Mayday Fund (a medical foundation) and a longtime supporter of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Her interest in these types of issues has led the firm to undertake both paid and pro bono architectural projects.

            In all of its projects, SPG uses Computer Aided Drafting technology combined with handcrafted drawings and models. Construction documents are created by computer in order to maximize cost-effectiveness, flexibility and precision. This state-of-the-art technology, however, is just one aspect of the design process. “It’s not just about technology,” Gartner says. “We integrate a real sense of tactile, natural materials. We juxtapose natural and manmade materials in our designs.”

            In one project, for example, SPG juxtaposed horizontal wood siding with a Corten steel façade that allows for natural aging. A project for America Online, placed wood framing elements next to stainless steel and luminescent acrylic panels. “We like to use translucency to provide light beyond the room you are in,” Gartner explains.

            To highlight its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of its projects, SPG uses energy resources to their maximum end use and efficiency, relying on alternative energy sources such as geo-thermal systems for domestic hot water and interior heating and cooling, solar energy and hydropower. The firm also uses everything from Low-E glass and green roofs to diminish heat gains to water reclamation and recycling.

            “We just completed a huge house in Costa Rica that is off the grid,” Gartner says. “It’s self-sufficient in terms of energy and water use. It’s fully powered by solar panels.”

            The Rwanda project is also off-the-grid. All waste and electricity is dealt with onsite. “We have three significant projects that address sustainability and are appropriate to their locations,” says Gartner. “They are all very diverse.”

SPG realizes that it is part of an industry that needs to change and has to change when it comes to being environmentally conscious. “We want to be part of the leadership of that in terms of embracing different ways of how people think and work,” Gartner says. “We tell our clients that this is an important aspect of what we do.”

            The company works on projects of all sizes. Its largest in terms of square footage and pricing was a project involving the offices of COTY, Inc. The 100,000-square-foot build space ended up being a $10 million to $12 million project.

            Most of SPG’s residential projects range from $1 million to $4 million. One recent undertaking, a huge 18,000-square-foot home in Costa Rica would have cost around $12 million if it had been built in the United States. “We built that house above the ground plane of the rain forest,” Gartner says. “The entire house was elevated.”

            SPG is constantly expanding its areas of expertise. Other specialties include interior design and furnishings, healthcare facility planning and feasibility studies, multi-family design and master planning. One of the company’s largest master planning projects was the approximately 56-acre South Corvallis Riverfront in Oregon with 550,000 square feet of potential development

            In the future, Gartner would like to see the company add more institutional building projects such as small universities and museums. “It’s a logical step for us,” he says. “It would also be logical to do small multi-family units or complexes and resorts, particularly those located in ecologically sensitive locations.”

            The company’s success stems from its commitment to quality. “We follow through on every level so that we complete a project on the highest level,” Gartner says.

            SPG has kept its personal touch by remaining small in size. “We like to stay in boutique size so Coty and I can be engaged in the process,” Gartner explains. “We want to grow in a controlled manner so we can offer our clients the same level of quality no matter where or how big a project is.”