discover tci 2004

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A r c h i t e c t u r e
Building a City
A Tale of Two Architects
Jeff Lee
hen looking around the island of Providenciales, it is hard to imagine
that for nearly 200 years, the quiet population on the sleepy island of
Providenciales existed in relative obscurity. There were no tourists,
resorts, shopping centers or off-shore banking centers. In fact, the only built
structures until about thirty years ago were in the native settlements. Now into
the 21st century, a veritable city has grown where once there were only small
settlements. This is largely due to the efforts of two talented architects who were
able to see a vision for the future of Providenciales and then help to create it.
W
From the New World
On one side of the Atlantic, in the heart of the Midwestern United States, Jeff
Lee began his career in Wisconsin. After graduating from the Dal Tech School
of Architecture in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Jeff returned to the region where he grew
up for several years to gain experience and became registered with the US
National Council of Registration Boards as well as the State of Wisconsin. From
there, through a fortuitous series of events, he moved to Bermuda in 1978 where
he lived and worked for four years concentrating on projects within the resort
and hotel industry. Jeff moved to the TCI in 1982, opening an office as a single
proprietor, and embarked upon a career which has been helping to define the
built landscape of Providenciales.
"In the early days," Jeff says, "Most of my work consisted of beach front residential projects. Homes which are representative of my early and later work
here include the ‘Epprecht’ house (now known as Sand Castle), Johnson house
(Serenity house), the original houses in the Harbour Gates development and the
Goodwin House." Jeff feels that the Simons House on Duke Street in Grand
Turk is one of his best achievements. "This house mirrors many of the elements
of the native island architecture and blends beautifully with the surrounding
charm of Duke Street looking as if it has been there for centuries, which is what
the clients wanted."
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"This house mirrors
many of the elements
of the native island
architecture and
blends beautifully
with the surrounding
charm of Duke
Street looking as if it
has been there for
centuries, which is
what the clients
wanted."
One of Jeff’s early achievements was the commission
for the original design for the Sheraton, then Royal
Bay, now Beaches Resort. While his role was only the
original design for the Bermudian style room blocks,
this was a great achievement for a locally based architect and it opened the door for developers to these
islands knowing that they could now obtain local
expertise without having to hire professionals from
abroad.
Then in 1996, Jeff’s horizons began to expand again
when he became part of the then Onions, Bouchard,
McCulloch firm, now OBM International, an internationally acclaimed firm with offices throughout
the Caribbean. Jeff now works both as the local
Managing Director of OBM Turks and Caicos and as
a Director of OBM International. His vision for the
TCI has changed dramatically, as he is now able to
bring "in-house" specialist services such as master
planning, marina planning and interior design to
provide clients with a comprehensive set of services
for their projects.
Since the creation of OBM Turks and Caicos, he has
launched a number of exciting projects including
most recently the Veranda project – the first
Caribbean seaside community of the "4th genera-
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tion" resort type. One of the most exciting current
projects is the Master Plan for the 44-acre Leeward
Marina, which will provide a center for activities and
yachting for the island. OBM is currently engaged on
a number of commercial projects including Grace
Bay Court, an office and retail center which has sold
out of the first phase. In addition, Jeff has completed
the concept design for the new Residence on Grace
Bay condominium hotel that he believes will establish a new standard of design and quality for such
developments along Grace Bay.
Other projects of note include the Caribbean template design for the CIBC bank. The building is slated to become the new Providenciales home of the
amalgamated CIBC and Barclays Bank – the First
Caribbean International Bank and OBM are currently adding to the structure. OBM recently won the
design competition for the Provo Government Office
Building – a 60,000 SF facility which is intended to
house most of the Turks & Caicos Government’s
Providenciales offices in the near future. OBM TCI
holds a significant market share of hotel and condo
hotel work and hopes to be able to say the same concerning commercial work in the near future. If the
past is anything to go on, there is little doubt that Jeff
Lee and OBM will achieve their aims.
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From the Old World
On the other side of the Pond, Simon Wood, a
young, British architect completed his higher education at the University of Sheffield. Graduating with
honors and a commendation in design and exhibiting much promise, he was quickly approached by an
innovative practice located in South Beach Miami
and Simon started his career as a site architect for the
refurbishment and expansion of Club Med in
Paradise Island Bahamas. .
Young and enthusiastic, Simon quickly gained a reputation for himself as a sensitive and innovative
designer. His work and accomplishments rapidly
spread throughout the Caribbean, working on resort
projects for Club Med in Paradise Island, Eleuthera,
Cancun, Bermuda, Florida, St. Lucia and Turks and
Caicos. He also created designs for the Mother of All
Inclusive resorts Superclubs in Ocho Rios, Negril,
Oracabessa, and Runaway Bay, Jamaica and later in
Cuba. He was involved in the design of the prestigious Jalousie Plantation in St. Lucia (now the
Hilton) and spa resorts such as Le Sport in St. Lucia
and La Source in Grenada.
In 1988, Simon first made his way to the Turks and
Caicos Islands. Working on a renovation of the existing Club Med, Simon fell in love with the islands and
their unspoiled landscape, and he felt drawn to the
energy of the people he met and the pioneering spirit that existed. He saw the potential of the islands
and felt that they had to be developed with care and
sensitivity. He had seen many examples around the
Caribbean of poor development that had ruined
once idyllic settings and wanted to seize the opportunity of having positive influence over the development of this new and upcoming tourist destination.
"It was an architect’s dream." Within the next couple
of years and following his qualification as a fully
Chartered Member of the Royal Institute of British
Architects, Simon relocated himself and his family to
the Turks and Caicos Islands and established Lane
Pettigrew Wood (LPW), a partnership with his former
boss, and later branched out on his own forming
Simon Wood Associates (SWA).
Simon’s general philosophy in design is always to
study and respect the local vernacular (the traditional architecture of the area). His architecture here in
the Turks and Caicos clearly follows these principals
and SWA has become known for creating buildings
Simon Wood
Working on a renovation of the existing Club
Med, Simon fell in love with the islands and their
unspoiled landscape, and he felt drawn to the
energy of the people he met and the pioneering
spirit that existed.
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A r c h i t e c t u r e
Young and
enthusiastic, Simon
quickly gained a
reputation for
himself as a
sensitive and
innovative designer.
His work and
accomplishments
rapidly spread
throughout the
Caribbean
defined by sensitivity for the historical design principles of the islands and their diverse architectural
heritage. He also takes pride in his company and his
team. He refers to all of his projects as a result of
team work and praises each of his staff members "for
their individual talents and the variety and youthful
spirit of the designs that result from their collective
efforts." More recently Simon and his team have
added a splash of modernism to craft a new distinctive architectural form, which defines a new Turks
and Caicos style - one which he and his associates
have affectionately coined the phrase TiMo (Turks
Island Modern).
Simon’s work load has been non-stop ever since he
first established himself here. Right off the starting
block, he landed the prestigious commission of
designing the Provo Golf Clubhouse. This building
is a landmark structure designed and built to withstand the ages and will surely be standing into the
next century as a testament to this era in Provo’s
development.
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Following fast on the heels of the Clubhouse, were
several other exciting projects including the Ports of
Call Shopping Village, Comfort Suites Hotel,
Tropicana Plaza, The Mansions on Grace Bay, Point
Grace, The Law offices of Misick and Stanbrook, the
Villa Renaissance on Grace Bay and several beautiful
exclusive residences.
SWA are responsible for bringing traditional urban
design to Providenciales with The Ports of
Call Shopping Village, they were also responsible
for conceptualizing the new Village at Grace Bay and
are the master planners for the 75 acre "Graceway"
commercial, leisure and residential community.
And the trend continues… SWA have just completed
the new Scotiabank on the Leeward Highway
(a "TiMo" project) and they are currently working
on several prestigious condominium developments
including "The Regent Grand" on Grace Bay
and "The Waterfront" in Leeward, which will be a
one of a kind modern residential resort community
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A r c h i t e c t u r e
project heavily
philosophy.
influenced
by
SWA’s
TiMo
For the future, Simon dreams that Providenciales will
develop and maintain an architectural language of its
own that will be based on the country’s historical
design principles. "This will define Provo’s architecture as uniquely ‘Turks and Caicos,’ giving it a sense
of style all its own."
Now these two architects from opposite sides of the
Atlantic come together on the island of
Providenciales and collectively are largely
responsible for shaping the built environment here.
On this small developing island is where these
two minds meet. Although intense, the competitive
rivalry is friendly. As their respective styles compete
for dominance upon the landscape, only time
will tell what the final result will be. The only thing
that is definitive is that these islands are the lucky
beneficiaries of the graceful monuments crafted by
these two talented designers.
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