Baltimore, MD, May 1 (MARKET WIRE)

Construction is expected to begin later this year on a seven story 36,050 square-foot mixed-use facility at 18 W Saratoga Street owned by the Southern Management Corporation.  Designed by the Baltimore based architecture firm, Peter Fillat Architects (PFA), the building will house a 9,400 square-foot state of the art automated parking garage as well as 19 rental apartments occupying 26,650 square-feet.  Located directly east of Baltimore City’s oldest intact building, St. Paul’s Rectory, PFA thoughtfully framed its historic neighbor, maintaing the street views while still allowing the new structure to be boldly contemporary.

The automated parking garage system was developed by a former NASA engineer.  When completed 18 W Saratoga Street will be the densest parking structure in the United States at almost 1,500 vehicles per acre; 402 parking spaces for cars and SUVs will occupy the north end of the building.  A traditional parking structure would be 3 to 5 times larger to accommodate the same number of vehicles.  The 19 apartments will occupy the south side facing W Saratoga Street.

The building is composed of autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC), aluminum clad wood windows with recycled glass and aluminum sun shades on the apartments.  These materials in addition to the building’s vegetated roof, trees and low ground cover, and other environmental preservation features contribute to the building’s expected LEED Platinum certification.

About the firm:

Peter Fillat Architects was founded in 1992, after Principal Peter A. Fillat, AIA, decided to open his own studio where he could more intimately explore design. The studio was known as “Studio Wanda” dubbed such in honor of a high-spirited work group with whom he had previous worked. At Studio Wanda, his goal was to design in harmony with the environment and to create lasting works of architecture – architecture of permanence. In the 1990s, the studio worked on a variety of projects including custom residential and restaurants, expanding its client base and diversifying its portfolio.

The studio has continued to grow over the past 17 years, providing a full range of architectural services for urban, mixed-use development, hospitality, multi-family residential, adaptive re-use, retail, and office projects. Today, PFA focuses on three types of work: hospitality, mixed-use and multi-family. In particular, we are proud to have worked extensively on Baltimore’s famous Inner Harbor East and the award-winning Bear Creek Mountain Resort. This is just a taste of our work though, as we are adding new breadth and depth to our portfolio daily.

Peter Fillat Architects (PFA), a nationally recognized, award-winning full-service architecture firm headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is designing 11 key buildings in a new, high-end sustainable community in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, San Antonio, Texas. eilan (pronounced a-lon) is described by owner Wereldhave USA as the  region’s most dynamic lifestyle community.

PFA is designing five multi-family residential buildings with a total of 540 luxury rental units, a gourmet grocery store, two mixed-used residential/retail buildings with 20,000 square feet of retail space, a boutique hotel and spa with 200 rooms, a restaurant, ballroom, and meeting, banquet and fitness facilities, a marketing center that will later be converted into a restaurant and a power plant facility. The firm will handle the schematic design through the production of construction documents for these 11 buildings.

The community will also include additional residential space, 200,000 square feet of office space, an outdoor amphitheater, chapel, hiking and biking trails, resort-style swimming pools, sporting facilities and approximately 25 acres of undisturbed green space.

"Situated in the rolling hills outside downtown San Antonio, the site brings to mind the Tuscany region of the Italian countryside and that echo is what inspired our design," explains Principal Peter A. Fillat, III, AIA, LEED AP. "An important element of the design is making the community a lively, interactive environment that helps people connect with each other and with the natural world that surrounds them. It will stand in sharp contrast to the drive-by lifestyle of the typical suburb. We’re creating a town that harkens back to the more personal, smaller scale way of life so many of us seek. There is an emphasis on walkability and a wide variety of outdoor gathering places where people can come together."

Sustainability is another important aspect of the new community. "All buildings will include sustainable components and materials to save water and energy and reduce waste. Some of the buildings will be LEED certified. eilan brings together many of the key elements that exemplify how communities are evolving to create places that return us to a more engaged, communal life that strives to respect and protect the landscape in which it takes place," Fillat adds.

Ground was recently broken on the site, with site work expected to begin in spring 2008. The community opening is planned for the spring of 2009.

About the firm

Peter Fillat Architects, Inc. was founded in 1992 and has continued to growover the past 15 years, providing a full range of architectural services for urban, mixed-use development, hospitality, multi-family residential, adaptive re-use, retail, and office projects. The firm helps clients establish viable design options given their specific aesthetic and spatial needs; oversees all design and construction phases of the project; and implements high-quality design principles and construction materials to create lasting works of architecture. Services include site analysis, master planning, schematic design, historic tax credit documents, design development documents, construction documents, construction administration, zoning assistance and LEED certification. For more information, visit www.pfarc.com.