Stanley Saitowitz-Natoma Architects Inc.

Each building begins with the site, and the particular desires to transform it. Buildings are earth, made of matter, and a continuation of the geological processes that produced their sites, part of natural evolution. A building marks and amplifies its unique spot on the globe. Like a lens, it brings to focus its particular time and place. This relationship to the local, to location, is a natural way for uniqueness to emerge from ideas of buildings which may be generic and general. Through the relations to geography, site, climate, culture, and resources, buildings are naturally specific. Both the buildings in landscapes and the work in cities demonstrates this marking of time and place. Green architecture is not just about the future of building, but the key to any future. We have developed both passive and active energy systems. These include intelligent passive design using solar orientation, shading, day lighting, window layers, and active systems like sensors which calibrate and balance interior environments, photovoltaics, geothermal and river cooling. We use renewable resources, and build lightly, using the least possible materials and effort to encompass the most possible volume and space. Our entire practice revolves around the idea of economy and optimization.