Formally established in 1998, DATUMZERO is an interdisciplinary firm integrating architecture and allied fields committed to innovative and sustainable design practices. It targets to provide a continuous and cohesive delivery of ideas from conception to crystallization. Datumzero has offices located in New York City, San Jose, Costa Rica and Kigali Rwanda.

Datumzero has created an Inquiry based platform of work in pursuit of new and progressive responses to design. The office places particular emphasis on the collection of knowledge through a creative approach of research, clear planned strategies, and measured execution.

The office believes in the integration of disciplines, often drawing references from other fields outside of architecture, such as art, science, cinema, social / cultural systems, and historical references.

Where possible, integrating important and relevant aspects of sustainability.

History

The office was founded in New York City in 1998 by Guillermo Garita after an exhausting run of academic work. In 2003, Datumzero South project office was founded in San Jose, Costa Rica, a studio concentrating in the development of sustainable and bioclimatic projects for the hospitality, residential and tourism industry. Such office has grown into a fully staffed practice with projects ranging from single residences to sustainable and socially integrated master plans.

Our office has collectively conceptualized and delivered high profile projects for the HOSPITALITY, SPA, HOUSING and PRODUCT industry, in addition to highly published residential projects in the US and Overseas. DATUMZERO's work has been widely published nationally and internationally, including its latest publication in the World Atlas of Contemporary.

Architecture

ARCHITECTURE OF ADAPTABILITY

The office profoundly believes in adaptability, adaptability as a form of contextual integration not as a form of surrender. Each project has a context, not just physical but also experiential.
During the process of design all contextual conditions are analyzed, land, climate, program, user, materials, social aspects, local architectural vocabulary, reach of human resources, and local methodologies of construction. This condition of adaptability yields an architectural response of permanence and stability.

ASURVIVING ARCHITECTURE

The practice of architecture has always been an economic and market driven discipline, since the opening of Datumzero the office has experienced market booms such as the Web Startup company trend in the mid 90’s, real estate development as the new frontier in the late 90’s and turn of the century, as well the dark downturns such as the economic freeze in NYC due to Sep. 11, and the market crash of 2008 as a result of speculative real estate practices. Inherently, surviving architecture has been a topic of most small offices practicing the field of design.

Team

Founder & Creative director

Guillermo Garita/ Arch

Collaborators

David Rojas / Senior architect
Veronica Rojas/ Senior architect
Mary Fernandez/ Administration
David Mugave/ QS
Emmanuel Mumu / QS
Ariel Valerin/ Junior Architect
Andrey R. Brenes/ Intern

Past collaborators

María José González

Gustavo Fernandéz

Alex Hidalgo

Alberto Chinchilla

Javier del Risco

Jose Fabio Fernandez

Daniela Solis

Tamara Caldera

Rebeca Cisneros

Natalia Solano

Luis Diego Quiros

Alexis Bravo

Adrian Guevara

Emmanuel Gomez

Carlos Solano

Daniela Valverde

Steven Leandro

Ximena Rojas

Monserrat Sanchéz

Natalia Cascante

Mauricio Quiros

Elizabeth Brenes

Valeria Pacheco

Bernice Chan

Claudia Perez

Jose Vargas

Liz Burr

Carol Levesque

Julia Mock

Damian Webster

Arthur Haritos

Arthur Atlas

Vanessa Atchuen,

Vanessa Betancourt

Academic

Guillermo Garita has taught at various Universities; as an Adjunct Professor at CUNY, City University of New York, NYCTECH, guest professor at various universities, Uqam, The Université du Québec à Montréal School of Architecture, guest summer professor at Veritas University School of Architecture, San Jose Costa Rica. As well, he has been a visiting critic at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, Cooper Union, Yale, among others. In 2017 served as a Panelist and presenter at the 10th MUNDANEUM (Re-thinking Architecture and Cities in the Americas), a Conference in architecture and urban planning. His work has been widely published.

He has taught an experimental design studio for many years called “Experimental Architectural Acts“ The Studio aims to restore our thinking process to our most basic intuitive and rational mechanisms. It attempts to heighten the awareness of creative process Through Making, Inventing, and oscillating from reality to fantasy, pushing our thinking boundaries outside the realm of memory.

Workshop

Our office has collectively conceptualized and delivered high profile projects for the HOSPITALITY, SPA and PRODUCT industry, in addition to highly published residential projects in the US and Overseas. The firm has, as well, developed business Prospectus, performed research and structure organization for potential projects overseas. DATUMZERO's work has been published numerous times nationally and internationally, including its latest publication in the World Atlas of Contemporary Architecture.

In 2003 we founded DATUMZERO SOUTH OFFICE, a satellite office in San Jose, Costa Rica concentrating in the hospitality and tourism industry.

In 2018 we founded DATUMZERO EAST OFFICE, a office in Kigali, Rwanda concentrating in the residential and commercial industry.