Peter DeMaria (born October 24, 1960, in
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...
) is an American
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
known for his non-conventional use of materials and construction/fabrication methodologies.
Early life and education
DeMaria was born in
Madison, New Jersey
Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...
. He earned a
Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from
Kean University
Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated rese ...
in 1982 and a
Master of Architecture
The Master of Architecture (M.Arch. or MArch) is a graduate professional degree in architecture qualifying the graduate to move through the various stages of professional accreditation (internship, exams) that result in receiving a license.
Ove ...
degree in 1986 from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
.
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 Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
's prints,
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
hamburgers, and the
textile block house
The textile block system is a unique structural building method created by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1920s. While the details changed over time, the basic concept involves patterned concrete blocks reinforced by steel rods, created by pourin ...
s of
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
. "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 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. Some research ...
, principles that were professed by
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...
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, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
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
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers, or ISO containers). Containerization, also referred as container stuffing or container loading, is the process of uni ...
. 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
A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) is a type of hybrid vehicle that couples a conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) with one or more electric engines into a hybrid vehicle drivetrain, combined propulsion system. The presence of the electri ...
s in the automotive industry. His design for the East Los Angeles/
Boyle Heights
Boyle may refer to:
Places United States
* Boyle, Kansas, an unincorporated community
* Boyle, Mississippi, a town
*Boyle County, Kentucky
*Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, a neighborhood
Elsewhere
* Boyle (crater), a lunar crater
* 11967 Boyle, ...
Four Square Church Parsonage received a 2009
American Institute of Architects (AIA) Design Award.
In 2011, his design for RED BULL USA FMX-Data Center and Lounge received an AIA Design Award Citation.
In 2016, he was tapped by Max Azria to create start-up steel module based Prefab company, HBG Steel & Azria Homes. Over the course of three years of research and development, the DeMaria focused on developing an outsourced building module that would ultimately serve the homeless across the US. Reconnaissance within China and the development of a factory outside of Shanghai, led to HBG's "Prototype 1440 Model" as the first China outsourced single family home to be approved under the guidelines of the State of California Housing and Community Development Program. The 1440 Model was a hybrid steel module and was followed by additional approved single family residences and smaller apartment structures. The 1440 thrust open the gateway to multi-family residential projects that would have a larger and positive impact on the homeless challenge in Los Angeles. The tracking of his developments, from his early roots, are covered in a Stanford University-based Modlar Podcast. Culminating with three large scale LA projects, Hope on Lafayette, Hope on Western and Hope on Alvarado - each was born out of DeMaria's early studies with Azria. Focused on Mayor Eric Garcetti's Los Angeles Bridge Housing Program and Homeless Shelter initiative, DeMaria's prefab developments now serve as the core module for additional multi-family apartments planned for Los Angeles. Committed to a vision for a quality designed housing solution that serves the masses across the US and at a global scale, his merging of product design and architecture - a hybrid design-fabricate-assemble strategy - placed him at the forefront of innovative prefab systems and technology.
In 2020, he collaborated on the creation of prefab industry resource, TEAM Prefab - a global data-base that "champions Prefabrication sensibilities - redefining, expanding and revolutionizing the antiquated architecture + construction industries".
In 2022, DeMaria's Hope on Lafayette Homeless Village for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's Bridge Housing Program . was recognized with an AIA Residential Design Award Citation. Designed in 2019, when he served as Chief Design Principal with HBG/Azria Homes, DeMaria teamed with HBG visionary founder, Max Azria, Danny Moizel, Pres. & Dir. of Construction, Damon Summers, Vice Pres., and a team of professionals to bring the first State of California approved multi-family/multi-story modular solution from overseas/China. Their hybrid steel modular system development culminated with a 2023 Modular Building Institute (MBI) First Place Design Award for the Hope on Lafayette Bridge Housing Project as well as an additional AIA Design Award for their Transitional Housing Project - Hope on Alvarado.
DeMaria has taught architecture and lectured across the US since 1995 as a part-time faculty member in the Design Dept. at California State University at Long Beach and as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Architecture.
[UTSOA Faculty page https://soa.utexas.edu/people/peter-demaria]
Works
* Neeson Residence,
Hollywood Hills, CA, 1995
* RAND Corporation,
Santa Monica, CA
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
, 1997
* Amor Road Residence,
Hollywood Hills, CA, 2002
* Redondo Beach House,
Redondo Beach, CA
Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Santa M ...
, 2007
* East Los Angeles Four Square Church Parsonage,
Boyle Heights, CA, 2009
* RedBull Motocross Team Center,
Lake Piru, CA, 2011
* Hope on Alvarado,
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...
, 2021
* Hope on Lafayette,
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. With an estimated 3,878,704 residents within the city ...
, 2021
References
External links
DeMaria Design Official WebsiteGLIVING.com interviewSundance Channel - Big Ideas for a Small PlanetLexus Automobiles - The Power of HThe Modern Architect - Stanford Univ.- PodcastHBG Modular Official WebsiteAzria Home Official WebsiteTEAMprefab Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demaria, Peter
1960 births
Living people
20th-century American architects
Kean University alumni
People from Madison, New Jersey
University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture alumni
21st-century American architects
Architects from New Jersey