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| Caribbean Property Magazine Home / January 2008 / 'Dominican Republic: An Engineer’s Journey ' | SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND  |
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JANUARY  2 0 0 8Issue 12
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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: AN ENGINEER'S JOURNEY These ocean view condos are full of light and endless views of the sea and the sky, with living spaces that are clean and breathable. The environment is an infinite part of each unit. Infiniti Blu is just a short walk from the center of Sosua and only 10 minutes from the airport at Puerto Plata, 15 kilometers to the west. This five acre community is built like a tiara around a central pool, whilst the crowning jewels are at one end with a glorious private view of the ocean. The density of the housing strikes a nice balance between community living and privacy, everybody has a private garage and the internet is dedicated hi speed. It feels like a place with a vibrant heart.  The architects and engineers Sadeghi and Sadeghi built many of the stunning Sea Horse Ranch and El Choco luxury developments close by, and they bring to this new design the same design flair, coupled with care and attention to detail. There is a master hand at work here. | ||
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 DSA: Sepehr, thank-you for stepping away from your busy schedule on the site, and giving me some time to chat with you. My very first question is..Why here? Why the Dominican Republic?  DSA: So you didn’t need the escape route? What made you stay? S S: No we didn’t need the escape route. We ran the company in Vienna for just 18 months and then got out. The final decision to stay was not difficult. We had so many advantages in Sosua; no industry, the clean air, the ocean, the cultural diversity, the vegetation, the greenness of our environment, and the very good education that was available to our young kids. The International School here carries the SACCS accreditation, which means the students after graduating can go onto any university in North America. The principal language taught is English but students also learn and study in Spanish. One of the things we enjoy as a family in Sosua is the multicultural diversity. In our own home we speak German, Farsi, English and Spanish, but this is not unusual. Most families we know here have at least three languages in their homes. Sosua is a town of 18,000 inhabitants, and actually is a very old fishing village with a long history within the Dominican Republic. It is also famous as being the village that took in hundreds of fleeing Jewish families at the beginning of the Second World War. This Jewish group started many businesses, the most well known being a dairy. A number of that original group has moved on to the US, but many of their families and descendants are still here. Last week we were at a party, where we met a few elders from that original group, its was very, very interesting. They built Sosua as it is today. And because of that business ethos they brought with them, people find a very different level of quality from the rest of the Dominican Republic, even I would say, the Caribbean. Social activities are not high on our list. There are a few good restaurants, for the kids the sports at Cabarete which is one of the ten top places for windsurfing and kitesuring in the world, are superb. For shopping and for those who need to just spend time in a busy city, Santiago is 1.25 hours driving away. For our family we love the clean air, the green environment, the lack of industry.  DSA: The DR has managed to preserve nearly a third of its original rainforest through strong environmental advocacy from government and NGOs, is this sort of long term planning from the top down likely to continue? S S: Most definitely. Since the days of Balaguer who did so much to preserve it, our environment is a very important part of the country’s educational policy. There is no doubt that Dominicans have a strong understanding for the preservation of the countryside. Our proximity to Haiti has taught us quite clearly how easy it is to lose our vegetation, and the government is aggressive about protecting and preserving what we have. DSA: How does this type of environmental advocacy affect Sosua and Infiniti Blu? S S: I am glad you asked that question as I have a very special Infiniti Blu story for you. In 1962, this very land was given to General Imbert by the Balaguer government as a gesture of thanks for Imbert’s role in assassinating the dictator Trujillo. General Imbert used the land just for vacation purposes and it remained untouched until we bought it two years ago. The same trees have stood on this land for nearly fifty years and more without interference. I remember we marked and numbered every single tree on the property before we even started to design the buildings. The very first day of the very first excavation, we had the environmental department, a whole team of them, standing beside us watching that we didn’t harm a single tree. The department is very pro-active. If someone tries to cut a tree down, they act!  DSA: When you designed Infiniti Blu, who did you design it for? Do you see it more as holiday units? Or for a more permanent lifestyle? For Europeans, Dominican Republicans or for North Americans? S S: Silke designed it for a broad variety of people; it’s a very flexible floor plan. The units will work for permanent residential use, and also for the vacationer, they make great party homes, but also even for a home office. I admit, that was the hardest part for us, designing for every possibility. Interestingly, there are not a lot of projects on the north coast built for permanent residency. Everything is built for the easy holiday rental. Infiniti Blu is very rare in that the units will make lovely all year round homes. We are convinced we found a golden means for both uses. Utilitarian areas such as washing and drying space, huge areas for storage for the long term resident, walk in closets, big bathrooms for showering off beach sand from abundant small children! Or even for adults who want to take their time and enjoy a fresh shower. Our background gives us an expertise in the 'economical' floor plans of European cities, where space is at a premium, and no storage space is ever left unused.  This we combined with the vast spaces of the luxury villas we have been designing in the last eight years, even our smallest apartment is 1700+ sq feet including huge terraced areas. Europeans will feel very familiar with the design and detail of Infiniti Blu; they would recognize many of the aspects of home. Except for the bathrooms, these are not European bathrooms; these are North American sized ones! North Americans who are used to big, spacious rooms will love Infiniti Blu. DSA: What of the Dominican Republic culture has been preserved in Infiniti Blu? I Perhaps style, design, art, craft, color, people, environment? S S: The details are European, but the design result has strong influences from the Caribbean and more specifically the Dominican Republic. We believe we have achieved a healthy mixture of European with Caribbean. We have encompassed the environmental awareness of the Dominican Republic more than any other local cultural element. The big open spaces, the large expanses of glass pull the gardens and the pools into the apartments. Everywhere in and out, has an outdoor feel. The reason most of us live here is for the natural beauty of the ocean and the trees, so we frame that beauty on the walls of the homes at Infiniti Blu through perspective and design. One particularly well studied element of the architectural and engineering design was the flow of the natural ventilation, the stream of breeze that cools the property. The natural airflow is utilized from door, window and terrace throughout the whole of each condo. Air has to come in and go out, it has to circulate, and all the condos are designed with a natural circulatory system. Of course, that means that most of the year round residents will not need to use the air conditioning units that are installed in each unit.  DSA: What do you see as the heart of Infiniti Blu, the ‘village green’? The place where the community comes together? Is there more than one area? S S: The heart of the community is at the big adventure pool, well shaded by many of our ancient trees. It has a waterfall and a Jacuzzi, a shallow part for the kids, and a bigger swimming and exercise area. There will be a second pool on the beach, which will be built in Phase II, an infinity pool with a Beach club for light refreshments. DSA: The Infiniti Blu units are spacious with a wonderful blend of more glass than wall in the main reception rooms? But how can you get away with that and not heat up the buildings? S S: Ah, this is a good question. In order to let in as much light as possible the design incorporates large areas of window. The problem with large areas of course, in a sunny climate is that heat is accumulated along with the light. We have addressed this in two ways.  First, our windows are specially made in Germany and shipped to us here. These windows are double glazed, double sealed and are filled with argon, an inexpensive, non-toxic gas. The gas will prevent heat entering the buildings whilst letting the entire light flood in. Second, most of the windows are set back into the buildings and well shaded with roofs so that again, heat entry is kept to a minimum whilst light is not affected. Here along the north coast, we have a gentle climate with an average temperature of around 30-34 C in the summer months, and around 25-28 C in winter. The south coast is a lot hotter. The north coast simply does not get as hot as most northern continental cities. DSA: I have heard from real estate professionals in Dominican Republic, that Infiniti Blu is an excellently run project. It’s one of the best. How do you manage that? Building within European standards which are so very stringent and rigorous, has taught us that there are no short cuts. Even though there are differences in materials and workforce, we can still apply our expertise and knowledge into all work done here in the Dominican Republic. Another reason for the continuing high standards is that our main office is right here, on-site at Infiniti Blu. I can see the contractors working every day out of my window. I have worked with the same sub-contractors building luxury villas at Seahorse Ranch for seven and a half years now. I know them; they know me; we have worked through our differences! They know how to produce exactly what I demand. I have taught them.  DSA: And what was the most difficult thing to teach them?  With Phase III we are looking into providing a crèche or nursery, depending on how many young families are living here. And for older kids Sosua and Infiniti Blu are a wonderful place to live, with a variety of natural activities on the ocean and in the countryside. DSA: How soundproofed and private are each of the units? S S: In a residential building what is the weakest most vulnerable point? The weakest point is always the windows. Usually you have around 20 cms of concrete wall up to the window. In Infiniti Blu we have addressed that with the special European windows we have fitted, providing security, sound proofing, and heat resistance. So when the windows are closed in a condo, you have a very high level of sound proofing. But of course, when the windows are open, you will hear some of the sounds of the community and gardens around you. Much of the soundproofing then will come from the vegetation around the unit.  DSA: When will the first family be able to move in? S S: In about two months time, in February 2008. We are two months behind schedule due to heavy rains from Hurricane Dean and Tropical Storm Olga which affected us only a few weeks ago. The storm drains we have built into the development worked extremely well and we were quite undamaged, but many other factors such as our workforce and our deliveries were badly affected. DSA: Will Phase II and III affect the lives of those who are already settled into their new homes? S S: Phase I is right in the middle of the property, and so Phase II will affect residents living there. But Phase II is not right next door and so we hope there will not be as much disturbance as we fear. Phase III will not affect them at all as it is some distance away, other than the odd truck passing. DSA: What is the end point and when? S S: Phase III is the endpoint and is scheduled for completion in December 2009. Phase II will be finished in February 2009 one year after Phase I. DSA: What is special about this time of year (Christmas) in Sosua and at Infiniti Blu? S S: It’s very special here. Since we are living in such a multicultural group, we don’t just celebrate Xmas, but Hanukah and a number of other religious celebrations that take place at this time of year. We go from party to party enjoying these different cultural activities. Then after the 24th December we go into high season, so the place will explode, with local music, merengue, night clubs and a plethora of tourist activities. The best place to be on New Year’s Eve is at a beach party. From there on the beach at Sosua one has a panoramic view of all the firework displays held by the big hotels and other communities. DSA: If you could create the future, how would you like to see Infiniti Blu in 10 years time? S S: My hope is to see a big Infiniti Blu family, where people belong not only to a development, but to an extended, support family where they can share their joys and sadnesses. The way the buildings are positioned in the 20,000 square meters of land, creates this kind of community living. A place where your home is private, but the outer environs are shared and where you can meet your neighbor sitting on a bench reading a book, tending their garden, by the pool, or on the beach with the kids.  DSA: A lot of yourself is in this beautiful project, how are you going to walk away from it when it’s finished? S S: (Laughter) We are NOT going to walk away! We are going to move in! If we can afford it, we will have one of the oceanfront apartments in Phase II. I don’t know a better development to move into! DSA: So in January 2010 you and your family will be moving in to Infiniti Blu. What a wonderful way to finish the project, and what better way to underscore your own faith in the development! Thank-you for your time.
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