ingenious.
danny forster
“I hope I am remembered as a person that found his passion
and tried to share it with others”.
text Jessenia Montes de Oca photos Outside Source
H ow can a person be scared
of heights yet radiate passion for buildings? Danny
Forster, architect by profession and communicator
by nature, confronts his fears and passions in every
episode of “Build it Bigger” (Mega-construcciones)
on Discovery Channel. An architect with a Master’s
degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design,
professor, television host y producer, he says he loves
his job as much as he loves being able to travel the
world. At 32 years old he presides over a Danny
Forster Studio, a well-recognized firm in the United
States, a position that allowed him to come to the
Caribbean to participate in a sustainable tourism
project together with his students, offering solutions
to structural and living condition problems.
At the same time he loves and enjoys this moment
in his professional life, he continues to innova-
te. Currently he is on the threshold of an exciting
television project with the experienced and award-
winning producer Steven Spielberg, which consists of
documenting the reconstruction of the World Trade
Center and memorial, using high definition film and
advanced technologies.
To our surprise, one of his favorite architecture pro-
jects takes place…in the Dominican Republic.
What brought you to study architecture and what
caused you to initiate investigations into the im-
pact of architecture on the environment?
To me, architecture is more than how to design a
building. It’s one of these professions that involve
different areas such as technology, history, culture,
and sociology. You try to understand how a family
functions when you make them a house, but also how
“I got to travel all around the world and I get
to explore and investigate architecture”.
they live. Its one of the things that makes me incredi-
bly happy, I love being part of an amazing project, I
feel like a kid with his toys.
What is the future of sustainable architecture?
I think the future of sustainable architecture won’t
have so much to do with technologies like solar pa-
nels or other well-known fancy technologies. Archi-
tecture will be more about people, such as engineers,
architects, and homeowners, thinking about sustai-
nability at all time and in each aspect and detail of
the home.
How would you describe your experience partici-
pating in a green architecture project in this part
of the Caribbean?
Very interesting. I brought my students to PUNTA-
CANA Resort & Club to study the types of homes
there and to offer new forms of building structures in
the area of Playa Serena.
How do you think sustainable tourism can benefit
a country like the Dominican Republic?
It supports the economy of the Dominican Republic.
One of the things we are pursuing is to discover the
ability to join these new forms of building with the
traditional methods that are used in the Dominican
Republic. In other words, how do we find a form
that has what we could call a method that is modern,
native, and sustainable?
How has your experience been with your program
“Build It Bigger”?
Incredible! I have a job that allows me to travel all
ingenious.
“I think this is once in a life experience and
you should take advantage of it”.
over the world. Today I could be in Rio de Janeiro
and tomorrow in Johannesburg, South Africa, then
Kuwait or to Abu Dhabi.
How do you combine your two passions: commu-
nication and architecture?
I believe it’s very important to be able to communica-
te about architecture since so many of the things we
translate in our designs and our work as designers
are not obvious to a lot of people. Part of my job is to
design, but it’s also to educate people. Many people
can see a house and not realize it’s a sustainable
architecture project, but it’s the job of the architect to
communicate this. We often forget this. I feel happy
being able to communicate with the public, to be
able to share my opinions and innovations.
As an architect, how would you describe your
style?
I don’t have a particular style. I think its important
that architects not have a particular style, because
when you first come to a project the first thing you
should do it listen; you have to listen to the client,
pay attention to types of materials to be used. If I
build a house in the Dominican Republic and then
try to build the same thing in New York, it will be a
bad construction. A house in New York responds to
the needs of the client in that place and the materials
in the place. If the construction is in the Caribbean,
the conditions will be different. For me, each buil-
ding, each client, and each geography should have its
own construction.
His residential project in Omena, Michigan, was ranked in the gold category by LEED and certified as one of the greenest in that State.
Is this your dream job?
Well, it’s very close (laughs). I am happy doing what
I am doing now. I think the difficult part of my life is
that I am always busy. I travel a lot and I am at home
very little. It’s hard on your life because it would be
nice to spend some time at home with friends and
family. But I think you only get this type experience
once in your life and you should take advantage of it,
because nothing lasts forever.
In your opinion, what is the most complete
building you have seen?
To call it the most complete, I think you have to take
into account each area, each location, each client,
each building, because each one has its own requi-
rements. A house in Punta Cana is different from a
skyscraper in Kuwait and either one has a different
way of evaluating it. It doesn’t mean its better; it’s not
a competition. There are only successful buildings in
different places. For me, its importance radiates from
its respect of the culture of that place.
But, has there been any construction that has
made you say, “Wow, this is the best I have seen…”
Well, that’s totally different. There are so many cons-
tructions. For example, some of the of Dominican
architect Oscar Imbert in the Dominican Republic.