Peter Rose + Partners
Boston–based firm Peter Rose + Partners has designed several houses outside the U.S., the majority of which are in Canada. The firm, led by principal Peter Rose, currently has a 14,000-square-foot house under construction in Yalikavak, Turkey. Rose spoke with custom home on how the firm navigates the design and construction of houses abroad.
How did you get the commission for the project in Turkey?
The commission for the On the Aegean, Off-the-Grid project came through friends. It's on a piece of property that the clients had owned for quite a while that is extremely topographic. We are known for our ability to build into topography, and there was an interest in being very sustainable, and we're good at that. The particularities of the site and of the project suggested that we might be a good fit.
What are some of the challenges of designing a house abroad?
The challenges mostly have to do with communicating across construction cultures and across languages. I think ideally, you have a local architect who translates everything or someone in your own office who is from the other place and who could translate language and units. But also if drawings done in North America don't work in another country, they would find a way to translate them to the language and conventions of that local place.
America is very advanced in terms of industry and things like construction. Turkey has the Hagia Sophia and places like that that can just blow your mind, but Turkey does not build outside of Istanbul at the same level—it is still learning how to build in a more sophisticated way. One can design, communicate with clients, get permits, but it's in the construction where the real challenges emerge.
