The 7th annual awards gala took place last week, with 40 deserving individuals taking home the coveted “Forty Under Forty” award. Jeff Curl, landscape architect with PK Studios Landscape Architecture, was one of the winners!
Here are a few candid shots of Jeff as he made his way around the crowd:

Gulfshore Business published interviews with all of this year’s winners. Here’s a short excerpt from Jeff’s:
“When it comes to landscape architecture, he’s right there at the forefront. In his two years at Naples-based PK Studios, Curl has incorporated environment-friendly xeriscaping into …

Selecting any professional is an unnerving process, and it’s particularly difficult and personal when it comes to selecting an architect.
A poor choice of doctor or lawyer, while potentially costly, is usually only temporary and rectified by moving on to a better professional.
An architect, on the other hand, controls the spaces you plan to use for years to come – whether it’s your office, your home, your church, or any other built (and many times, natural) environment.
To help you on your way to architectural nirvana, we’ve prepared a list of ten tips …

The Cambier Park Band Shell is an award-winning renovation project for the most important park and cultural center in Naples. PK Studios won the commission to take an existing park bandshell and create a state-of-the-art facility and centerpiece for the City.

The new band shell serves as a home to all types of performances from big-band concerts to Shakespeare in the Park, and can entertain audiences as large as 7,000 people.

To cover the expanded stage and withstand 80 tons of wind uplift, a polyester fabric roof was used, which transfers loads to foundation pilings …

Jeff Curl, landscape architect at PK Studios, has been recently invited to participate as a blogger for Naples Daily News. Jeff’s new blog, entitled Design Renaissance and Beyond, got off to a quick start a few days ago.
Here is a sampling of the first few posts on the blog:

Where I’m coming from (Jeff’s background and qualifications)
Democracy or Economic Anarchy? (Amendment 4 and how it could change Naples development forever)
The Power of Place in a Naples Renaissance (Past, present, and future of Naples design and how we can improve it)
Our Sense of (Parking) Place (Evaluating …

The process of designing anything is an elusive one. When it comes to communities and structures that are, in the span of one lifetime, permanent – it becomes even more difficult.
One of our favorite quotes regarding design comes from the great Louis Kahn, who summed up the design of a building in this beautiful and thought-provoking statement:
“A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed and in the end must be unmeasurable.”
Architects are often viewed as creative types and ‘designers,’ hired …

PK Studios is pleased to announce that Brandt Henning, LEED AP, a senior associate at PK Studios who has been with the company for over 6 years, had completed the requirements necessary to obtain architectural licensure from the State of Florida, and is awaiting final approval from the state board.
Brandt Henning has been a key team member of the design of a wide range of projects for PK Studios, including commercial, civic and traditional neighborhood designs. 
In the past few years, Brandt has focused his expertise on the site planning of …

A surrounding landscape, within the context of a Residence or a Planned Community’s Common Areas, represents one of the greatest values in Construction, when considering the return on your investment.  Location, location, location as the old Real Estate mantra goes – and your Landscape creates this initial impression of ‘Place.’  Our Landscape Architect’s Scope of Work encompasses Hardscape, Lighting, Landscape, and Irrigation. 
We focus on ‘artful’ design and the creation of a ‘functional image,’ in other words, a sustainable solution within the four listed Scope elements.

Hardscape plans create or enhance ‘outdoor …

Denise Couture Cowell, ASID, CAPS, LEED AP

PK Studios is pleased to announce that three of our colleagues have just received their LEED AP certification!  Congratulations to Denise Couture Cowell, ASID, CAPS, LEED AP; Judith Da Rocha, LEED AP; and Edie O’Reilly, ASID, LEED AP. That means our entire Interior Design studio is now fully accreditted under LEED!
 
LEED certification is a recognition that a construction project or building can attain by utilizing environmentally friendly building practices during construction or remodeling. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The U.S. Green Building …

As architects in a relatively change-averse cityscape like that of Naples, it’s exciting when a project comes along that calls for a lot of expression of our design abilities and a unique architectural statement. One such design was the FGCU (Florida Gulf Coast University) Naples Center, a 250-seat chamber hall and adjoining educational facility located in the heart of Naples.

This 50,000 square foot performance and classroom center is planned to be located at the corner of Goodlette-Frank Road and US 41 East, across from Tin City and the Bayfront Inn. …

PK Studios is pleased to announce that our firm has been awarded a 2009 AIA Florida Design Award for Unbuilt Merit for the design of the Kayak Launch for Collier County. The Kayak Launch was also the recipient of a 2007 local design award from AIA Florida Southwest.

Recognition from our colleagues at the state level reaffirms the project’s unique design. We are pleased to be recognized in the company of such names as Oppenheim Architecture, Arquitectonica, and Zyscovich Architects.
 
We are also pleased and honored to see Bruce Gora awarded posthumously with …