About Us
The Miami firm of Architeknics, Inc. was established in 1976 with Edward C. Berounsky and Ramon G. Perez-Alonso as principals. It was incorporated in 1978 to better facilitate the management and administrative needs of an expanding and growing firm. In 1981, Lourdes Rodriguez also joined and became a principal in 1991. Corporate titles are alternated annually between the principals.
The major portion of the firm's work has been educational facilities. The remainder of the work has been evenly distributed between light industrial, residential, mulit-family, institutional, commercial and space planning.
As a philosophy of practice, it is the belief of Architeknics, Inc., that a good physical environment is essential to the mental and spiritual well being of any society. Architecture, because of its direct relationship to almost all of the elements making up this environment, is in a unique position to have a positive, far-reaching effect on society and its cultural standards.
Architecture itself can be loosely defined as the physical means by which man shelters and gives order to his social activities. It is historically a direct measure of his sociological and technological advancement and as such can be seen as embodying everything that is and is not of lasting value to a culture.
The firm believes that there exists standards of functional and aesthetic excellence by which any architecture can be measured, that the degree of success in achieving this excellence will have direct effect on those who are exposed to it, and that there is present in our culture today the need and possibility for architectural excellence unmatched at any time in history. It is to the pursuit of this excellence that Architeknics, Inc. assigns themselves.
We believe that for any building to be successful it must be economically feasible, aesthetically pleasing and functionally correct. Unless all three of these areas are properly addressed in the design, it will not be totally effective.
The office functions primarily on a team concept in the production of projects. The size of a team can range from two to six depending on the complexity of the project and timespan within which it must be produced.
The firm uses outside engineering consultants rather than establishing an in-house capability, feeling this gives flexibility to the workload and project schedule. Staff and production can be quickly expanded by having several consultants that are readily available and that the firm has had experience and confidence in working with.
Programming is problem and data seeking and identification aimed to provide a sound basis for effective design. It suggests solutions by defining the main issue and giving direction to the designer through the detailed accumulation of all information relevant to the planning process, both current and as projected for long-term growth. Programmatic concepts are developed to help solve the client's management problems as they relate to function and organization. In programming the architect seeks to collect, record, organize, and analyze every idea and fact peculiar to the thorough development of a project.
Interior design encompasses the selection of all interior architectural materials and equipment related to the task of the user, including accessories, artwork, lighting interior landscaping, and any movable or permanent item within each building space or area. The interior space of a building must be related to its exterior. When unrelated, one or the other detracts from the whole. It is important that the interiors be sympathetic and integrated with the structure as a major inseparable consideration. More simply, the tasteful design and implementation of a well conceived interior space provides a working and living environment that will offer endless benefits for the inhabitants, regardless of the type of rooms and their intended usage.